One other week in faculty basketball places voters within the Related Press High 25 faculty basketball rankings in yet one more quandary about which group is deserving of the No. 1 spot. And after No. 1 Purdue’s 81-58 residence loss this weekend to No. 10 Iowa State, the checklist of worthy contenders to supplant the Boilermakers is very lengthy.
Will it’s an 8-0 Arizona group that is now armed with 4 ranked wins after a 97-68 dismantling of Auburn on Saturday? The Wildcats have been No. 2 within the ballot for 2 consecutive weeks.
Will it’s 8-0 Michigan, which has 4 consecutive wins of 30 or extra — amongst them Auburn and Gonzaga?
Might Iowa State, main the nation in scoring margin and recent off a street win over Purdue in Mackey Area, make the leap up 9 spots? You would be hard-pressed to discover a hotter group.
Talking of sizzling: There’s additionally 10-0 Duke. Matt Norlander argued Duke has the perfect resume in faculty basketball after downing Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday. He is likely to be proper.
Oh, the suspense!
Here is a snapshot on the resumes for a few of the groups getting into Monday. There is a good likelihood all 4 may earn first-place votes.
| TEAM | Document | Ranked Wins | Final Week’s Rank | Scoring Margin Rank |
| Michigan | 8-0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Arizona | 8-0 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Duke | 10-0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Iowa State | 9-0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
We’ll formally discover out Monday at midday ET when the AP High 25 ballot is launched. However unofficially, my projections on how I believe voters will deal with the rankings — not how I might rank the groups, to be clear, however how I believe the rankings will settle after voters solid their ballots — are beneath.
How Iowa State, sparked by an underrated freshman, pulled off an historic upset of No. 1 Purdue
Isaac Trotter
And my guess at No. 1? Voters — who gave Michigan the second-most first-place votes final week behind Purdue — will bump the Wolverines from No. 3 to No. 1. The voting can be shut and Duke, Michigan and Arizona may all be nearly-identical in closing factors. However the Wolverines had the sting in first-place votes final week over Arizona, and I think one other drubbing of its opponent this week may give it extra separation.
