How wild was Wednesday night? This wild: Villanova, Purdue, Auburn and Nevada all lost home games despite entering the day with a combined record of 46-0 at home. Total insanity. Just upsets on top of upsets on top of upsets. And, needless to say, those developments had an impact on the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one).
Virginia is the new No. 1, obviously.
The Cavaliers improved to 23-1 Wednesday with a 59-55 win at Florida State. So they now have nine top-50 KenPom wins -- most notably victories at Duke and over Clemson and North Carolina. And considering their lone loss is a single-digit loss at West Virginia, the body of work is undeniably rock solid. Truth be told, there's really no reasonable alternative for the top spot right now. So if Virginia beats Virginia Tech this weekend, the Cavaliers should be a unanimous No. 1 in Monday's AP and coaches polls.
Villanova only dropped to No. 2 simply because I believe the Wildcats -- at 22-2 with seven top-50 KenPom wins -- still have the nation's second-best resume even after Wednesday's surprising 79-75 loss to St. John's. And Purdue remained No. 3 despite Wednesday's last-second 64-63 loss to Ohio State for basically the same reason, i.e., because I don't think anybody below the Boilermakers deserves to be ahead of the Boilermakers, who are 23-3 with eight top-50 KenPom wins. Also worth noting: Their three losses have come by an average of just 2.7 points. And two of their three losses are to schools also in the top 15 of Thursday morning's Top 25 (and one).
Seton Hall and Nevada are out. Miami and Texas A&M are in. And before you scoff at the Aggies' reentry, you should know that Wednesday's 81-80 victory at Auburn was their sixth top-50 KenPom win, and that three of their eight losses came when they were without at least two starters. In other words, Texas A&M's record doesn't look great. But its resume is better than most realize.
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Thursday's Top 25 (and one) updated rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Cavaliers have won 15 straight games since losing at West Virginia. They own nine top-50 KenPom wins - among them victories over Duke, Clemson and North Carolina. | 1 | 5-4 |
| 2 |  | The Wildcats' resume features seven top-50 KenPom wins - among them victories over Xavier, Gonzaga and Tennessee. Their losses are to Butler and St. John's. | 1 | 6-4 |
| 3 |  | Ohio State snapped the Boilermakers' 19-game winning streak Wednesday. Purdue's resume still features eight top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-15 loss. | -- | 7-2 |
| 4 |  | The Spartans' resume includes five top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-35 losses. They'll take a seven-game winning streak into Saturday's game with Purdue. | -- | 8-2 |
| 5 |  | The Musketeers have won seven straight games since losing at Villanova. Their resume includes eight top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-50 loss. | -- | 7-2 |
| 6 |  | The Bearcats will take a 15-game winning streak into Sunday's game at SMU. They're 11-0 in the AAC and at least three games ahead of everybody in the league standings. | -- | 6-1 |
| 7 |  | The Red Raiders' resume includes seven top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-40 loss. They'll take a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Kansas State. | -- | 7-1 |
| 8 |  | The Blue Devils' resume features six top-50 KenPom wins and three sub-50 losses. Next up is Thursday's game at North Carolina. | 1 | 6-2 |
| 9 |  | The Jayhawks' resume includes eight top-50 KenPom wins and two sub-35 losses. They're 8-3 in the Big 12 heading into Saturday's game at Baylor. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 10 |  | Texas A&M snapped Auburn's five-game winning streak Wednesday. But the Tigers are still alone atop the SEC standings. | 2 | 7-1 |
| 11 |  | The Gaels' 18-game winning streak includes victories at Gonzaga and BYU. Their lone losses came more than two months ago. | -- | 8-1 |
| 12 |  | The Zags have won five straight games since losing to Saint Mary's. Their resume features three top-35 KenPom wins and only one sub-40 loss. | -- | 7-1 |
| 13 |  | The Tigers' resume includes six top-50 KenPom wins and just two sub-50 losses. They're 12-0 at home and 3-1 in neutral-court games. | -- | 9-1 |
| 14 |  | The Vols' resume includes four top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-50 losses. They'll take a six-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Alabama. | -- | 8-0 |
| 15 |  | The Buckeyes won at Purdue on Wednesday to record their fourth top-50 KenPom win. They've only lost twice in the past 10 weeks. | 3 | 6-3 |
| 16 |  | The Mountaineers' resume includes six top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-30 loss. They've beaten Virginia once and Oklahoma twice. | 1 | 6-2 |
| 17 |  | The Sooners' resume features seven top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-55 loss. OU's best wins are over Texas Tech, Kansas and Wichita State. | 1 | 8-0 |
| 18 |  | The Tar Heels' resume includes four victories over schools also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). They snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday with a win over Pitt. | 1 | 5-4 |
| 19 |  | The Wildcats had their seven-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Washington. They're 3-2 against top-50 KenPom teams with three additional sub-50 losses. | -- | 4-4 |
| 20 |  | The Shockers' resume includes three top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-50 loss. They've won three of their past four games since losing at Houston. | -- | 7-1 |
| 21 |  | The Rams have won 14 straight games since losing at Alabama. Two of their three losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). | -- | 9-0 |
| 22 |  | The Wildcats' resume features four top-50 KenPom wins -- among them a victory at West Virginia. They'll take a two-game losing streak into Saturday's game at Texas A&M. | -- | 7-1 |
| 23 |  | Four of the Wolverines' seven losses are to schools ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). Michigan's resume is highlighted by a double-digit victory at Michigan State. | 2 | 8-1 |
| 24 |  | The Bulldogs' resume features four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-50 loss. They are the only team that's beaten top-ranked Villanova. | 2 | 7-2 |
| 25 |  | The Hurricanes have won three straight games since losing at Florida State. Their resume included four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-40 loss. | NR | 3-6 |
| 26 |  | The Aggies resume includes six top-50 KenPom wins. Three of their eight losses came when they were down at least two starters. | NR | 7-2 |
Out: Nevada, Seton Hall
In: Miami, Texas A&M
