Michigan State moved to the top of the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one) Sunday morning thanks to a combination of a 14-game winning streak and Duke's loss at NC State on Saturday. But then the Spartans spent Sunday afternoon getting blown out in an 80-64 loss at Ohio State. So now Villanova is No. 1 again.
To be clear, I'd be willing to listen to an argument for West Virginia, and I have no problem with anybody voting the Mountaineers No. 1 right now. But I went with Villanova over West Virginia because the Wildcats' neutral-court wins over Gonzaga and Tennessee register similarly to West Virginia's home wins over Virginia and Oklahoma, and because Villanova's lone loss (101-93 at Butler) is better than West Virginia's lone loss (88-65 on a neutral court to Texas A&M.
Either way, look at this top five.
- Villanova
- West Virginia
- Virginia
- Texas Tech
- Oklahoma
Three of those schools weren't ranked at all in the preseason AP poll. Neither was No. 8 Arizona State. Or No. 12 TCU. Or No. 15 Florida State. So when you hear people say this season has produced unexpected storylines, it's true. Which should make for a fun rest of January, February and March.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Wildcats' only loss is a single-digit loss at Butler. Their resume features wins over Gonzaga and Tennessee. | 1 | 17-17 |
| 2 |  | The Mountaineers will take a 14-game winning streak into Tuesday's game with Baylor. Their resume features wins over Virginia and Oklahoma. | 1 | 19-15 |
| 3 |  | The Cavaliers' only loss is a single-digit loss at West Virginia. They'll take a six-game winning streak into Tuesday's game with Syracuse. | 1 | 25-8 |
| 4 |  | The Red Raiders are 3-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2004. Their resume features wins over Kansas, Baylor, Nevada and Kansas State. | 1 | 16-16 |
| 5 |  | The Sooners' 10-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at West Virginia. Their resume features wins at Wichita State and TCU. | 1 | 15-17 |
| 6 |  | The Blue Devils are 2-2 in their past four games. The losses are to Boston College and North Carolina State. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | The Spartans' 14-game winning streak was snapped Sunday at Ohio State. Michigan State's resume features wins over North Carolina, Notre Dame and Maryland. | 6 | 21-13 |
| 8 |  | The Sun Devils own five top-60 KenPom wins. They've beaten Xavier on a neutral court and won at Kansas and Utah. | -- | 23-13 |
| 9 |  | The Shockers have won five straight games since losing to Oklahoma. They're 3-0 in the AAC heading into Thursday's game at East Carolina. | -- | 17-15 |
| 10 |  | The Boilermakers have won 11 straight games since losing to Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Their resume features four top-40 KenPom wins. | -- | 29-6 |
| 11 |  | The Jayhawks avoided a two-game losing streak by winning at TCU on Saturday. Their only loss to an unranked team is a loss to Washington. | -- | 28-8 |
| 12 |  | The Horned Frogs have gone 1-2 since starting the season 12-0. But both of their losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). | -- | 22-13 |
| 13 |  | The Musketeers' 10-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Providence. Next up is Wednesday's showdown with Villanova. | -- | 27-10 |
| 14 |  | Two of Gonzaga's three losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). The Zags own wins over Creighton, Texas and Ohio State. | 1 | 31-6 |
| 15 |  | The Seminoles' resume includes wins over North Carolina and Florida. All three losses are to top-60 KenPom teams. | 1 | 9-23 |
| 16 |  | The Tar Heels are 2-3 in their past five games with losses to Wofford, Florida State and Virginia. Three of their next four games are at home. | -- | 20-13 |
| 17 |  | The Pirates have won five straight games since losing at Rutgers. Their resume features four top-40 KenPom wins -- most notably a victory over Texas Tech. | -- | 17-16 |
| 18 |  | The Bearcats have won seven straight games since losing to Xavier and Florida. UC's resume includes wins over UCLA and SMU. | -- | 23-13 |
| 19 |  | The Tigers will take a 10-game winning streak into Thursday's game at North Carolina State. Their resume features wins over Florida, Ohio State and Louisville. | -- | 23-11 |
| 20 |  | The Wildcats' nine-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Colorado. They are 2-2 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-75 losses. | -- | 28-7 |
| 21 |  | The Gators have won five straight games since losing to Clemson. Their resume features three top-30 KenPom wins. | -- | 16-17 |
| 22 |  | The Tigers will take a 12-game winning streak into Tuesday's game against Ole Miss. Their resume features wins over Tennessee and Arkansas. | -- | 21-13 |
| 23 |  | Three of the Vols' four losses are to teams ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). They own wins over Purdue and Kentucky. | -- | 25-11 |
| 24 |  | The Wildcats are 2-3 against top-50 KenPom teams after Saturday's loss to Tennessee. They're also 2-3 in games played away from Rupp Arena. | -- | 22-12 |
| 25 |  | All four of the Bears' losses are to teams ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). They own wins over Creighton and Texas. | -- | 23-11 |
| 26 |  | All three of the Bluejays' losses are to teams ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). They'll take a three-game winning streak into Tuesday's game with Butler. | -- | 24-12 |
