Tomorrow’s Prime 25 At this time: Kentucky soars into prime 10 of school basketball rankings after massive win vs. Duke

A shake-up is imminent Monday within the AP Prime 25 faculty basketball rankings after a chaotic week within the sport that noticed the No. 2, No. 6 and No. 9 groups all take losses to lower-ranked groups. No. 2 Alabama was the highest-ranked workforce to stumble final week, falling brief Friday to Purdue inside rowdy Mackey Area, which is mirrored within the ranks beneath projecting how we expect the most recent AP ballot shakes out Monday. However Duke and Arizona additionally slipped final week as favorites, and are projected to tumble out of the highest 10 because of this.

So let’s try to untangle the mess that was within the area beneath.

This might be a weekly protected area for us to guess how we expect AP voters will react to the outcomes of the week, making it after all totally different from Gary Parrish’s each day Prime 25 And 1 rankings and totally different than my weekly Energy Rankings. That is all about considering the complete season’s physique of labor, factoring within the final week since the newest AP Prime 25 ballot, after which attempting to interrupt into the mind of voters to guess how we expect the upcoming ballot Monday will look.

Our greatest guess is beneath — with a well-recognized title remaining at No. 1.

1. Kansas (Final week — 1): Kansas has not been the very best workforce in faculty basketball this season however it has not carried out sufficient to warrant being got rid of the No. 1 spot within the rankings after starting the yr there. Wins over Michigan State and Oakland this week stored it unbeaten at 4-0. 

2. UConn (3): The back-to-back champs are 3-0 on the season with a scoring margin of 38.7 ppg — which ranks third nationally. The schedule has been smooth, however the Huskies have been forceful of their efforts so far. They transfer as much as take Alabama’s earlier spot at No. 2.

3. Gonzaga (4): Gonzaga doubled-up UMass Lowell 113-54 in its solely outing of the week. The Zags must be No. 3 heading into a giant Monday evening assembly on the highway vs. San Diego State. 

4. Auburn (5): The Tigers ranked No. 1 in my debut Energy Rankings of the season final week, however I am skeptical voters might be fairly as excessive on Auburn as me. This looks like the fitting spot for them proper now coming off a 23-point house drubbing of Kent State.

5. Iowa State (7): One other win by 25+ over a workforce it was favored to win massive over would not transfer the needle a lot for Iowa State, however it does transfer up two spots after Alabama and Duke tumbled this week. The Cyclones have IU Indy on Monday earlier than a doozy the next Monday vs. Auburn. 

6. Houston (8): The No. 1-ranked protection in adjusted effectivity margin at KenPom.com belongs to the Cougars, who bounced again from a troublesome loss to Auburn with a 91-45 beatdown at house vs. Louisiana this week. 

7. Purdue (13): Hellllllllooooooooooo, Boilermakers, and welcome to the highest 10! Voters had been proper to be skeptical of this workforce’s ceiling after Zach Edey moved on to the NBA, however voters ought to now acknowledge the apparent after Purdue downed Bama 87-78 on Friday: this workforce very a lot stays a contender regardless of shedding Edey with Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn working the present.

8. Alabama (2): It is onerous to examine voters penalizing Alabama an excessive amount of after shedding on the highway — at Mackey Area! — to a Purdue workforce that clearly is healthier than its rating urged. The Tide ought to fall beneath the Boilermakers, and one spot beneath them looks as if an inexpensive response to latest outcomes. 

9. Kentucky (19): Coach Mark Pope and his Kentucky workforce made an announcement this week in defeating No. 6 Duke within the Champions Basic 77-72. The Wildcats must be in rivalry to maneuver into the highest 10 after that outcome, which moved them to 3-0 on the season.

10. North Carolina (10): UNC gained 107-55 in its lone outing of the week over American. The Tar Heels’ solely loss on the early season stays towards No. 1 Kansas. 

11. Tennessee (11): Two video games this week as heavy favorites resulted in two massive wins for Tennessee over Montana and Austin Peay. The Vols get Virginia on Thursday within the Bahamas. 

12. Duke (6): How far will voters push Duke down? We’ll see. My hunch is the Blue Devils fall out of the highest 10 after its 77-72 loss to No. 19 Kentucky on Tuesday within the Champions Basic. The Blue Devils should not fall a lot additional, although. They’re 3-1 on the yr and already again on monitor after an 86-35 win at house Saturday vs. Wofford.

13. Baylor (12): The Bears had an ideal 2-0 week after simply downing two fellow Texas colleges in Sam Houston State (104-67) on Tuesday and Tarleton State (104-41) on Sunday to enhance to 3-1 on the season. Baylor has been rolling after its season-opening loss at Gonzaga.

oh myyyyyy#SicEm | #CultureofJOY pic.twitter.com/9rpJ3kyl0q

— Baylor Males’s Basketball (@BaylorMBB) November 18, 2024

14. Creighton (14): Not but going through a workforce ranked inside the highest 200 of KenPom’s rankings is what’s conserving the Bluejays from shifting up, however they don’t seem to be shifting down given what they’ve carried out in these video games. Creighton is 4-0 and has gained by a mean of greater than 24.0 factors in these outings.  

15. Indiana (16): I will be watching ballots carefully Monday to see how voters rank Indiana and whether or not or not they’re nonetheless sleeping on the Hoosiers. An 87-71 win over South Carolina at house Saturday was one other checkpoint crossed for IU, they usually’ve constantly regarded good this season.

16. Arizona (9): Possibly seven spots is an excessive amount of of a punishment for a highway loss to an unranked Wisconsin workforce. However this feels about proper. The Wildcats’ protection is once more a query mark regardless of an incredible offense. 

17. Marquette (15): Kentucky and Indiana shifting up within the ballot means a deserving Marquette workforce will get an undeserved bump down two spots regardless of an enormous highway win vs. Maryland. Curious to see how voters method this — and would wager Duke and/or Arizona falling beneath Marquette is likely to be a choice they wrestle with. 

18. Florida (20): The Gators handed their first robust take a look at of the season with an 87-72 highway win at Florida State on Friday to enhance to 4-0. Their offense is firing on all cylinders led by their veteran-laden backcourt of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin. 

19. Cincinnati (17): Cincinnati falls two spots within the rankings this week partly due to its smooth nonconference schedule that makes it onerous to gauge its bona fides. The Bearcats dominated a hapless Nicholls workforce of their solely recreation of the final week 86-49.

20. Arkansas (18): A 65-49 house win over Troy must be sufficient to maintain Arkansas someplace within the prime 20 this week regardless of the noise surrounding different groups round this spot within the ballot from final week. 

21. St. John’s (22): Rick Pitino and St. John’s took down Richard Pitino and New Mexico on Sunday 85-71 to remain unbeaten on the yr. The Crimson Storm have a giant one upcoming Thursday vs. Baylor within the Bahamas. 

22. Texas A&M (23): Texas A&M defeated No. 21 Ohio State at house Friday 78-64 and must be on the climb Monday when the subsequent rankings drop. The Aggies dropped their season-opener vs. UCF on the highway however have responded effectively the final two weeks. 

23. Rutgers (24): Wins over Saint Peter’s and Monmouth by 10 and 17 factors, respectively, is not prone to transfer voters a technique or one other on the Scarlet Knights. They’re 3-0 and ranked correctly proper now within the mid 20s.

24. Ole Miss (25): Chris Beard’s Rebels are 4-0 on the season and will proceed to be ranked come Monday. 

25. Texas Tech (NR): I am hopeful voters see simply how good Texas Tech has been towards inferior opponents this season and rank the Crimson Raiders, although I might perceive if we wait till they face some actual competitors. Their 96-49 win over Wyoming on Wednesday barely even registered as a wow after successful by 21 and 33 factors within the two video games prior. 

Projected to drop out: No. 21 Ohio State