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- Here are the 6 biggest winners and losers in college basketball this week
Here are the 6 biggest winners and losers in college basketball this week
▲ No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs — Up 2 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
▲ No. 20 Iowa State Cyclones — Enter AP Top 25 Poll
Early season losses to the Arizona Wildcats and the Iowa Hawkeyes took the No. 20 Iowa State Cyclones out of the conversation with the top teams in the country, but Iowa State hasn't lost since. This week, they took down the then-No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks in dominant fashion, stretching a four-point halftime lead into a commanding 17-point gap by the final buzzer. Now the Cyclones find themselves in the top 20 of the AP Top 25 Poll with two more matchups against ranked opponents coming later in the month.
▲ No. 24 St. John's Red Storm — Enter the AP Top 25 Poll
It's about time the No. 24 St. John's Red Storm made their appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll. They were one of the last remaining undefeated teams in college basketball, beating the likes of Rutgers, California, and Georgia Tech before falling to the Seton Hall Pirates on a truly unbelievable go-ahead buzzer beater. This week, Chris Mullin's Red Storm took down the then-No. 21 Marquette Golden Eagles and Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas in five days. Guard Shamorie Ponds has been a serious competitor for years, and his team has finally caught up to speed.
▲ No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders — Up 3 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
The No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders rightfully sit amongst the top 10 teams in the nation. Jarrett Culver is one of the best players in all of college basketball and watching him drop 25 points against the then-No. 2 Duke Blue Devils and the likes of R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Cam Reddish at Madison Square Garden confirmed that. Culver had led the Red Raiders to wins over the USC Trojans, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and, this week, the West Virginia Mountaineers and Kansas State Wildcats. Texas Tech will face some stiff competition in conference play, including a matchup against the No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners Monday night.
▲ No. 6 Michigan State Spartans — Up 2 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
The No. 6 Michigan State Spartans have dropped two games this season, but both losses came before December. Point guard Cassius Winston ranks fourth in the nation with 7.6 assists per game while also leading the Spartans with 17.7 points per contest. He's helped Michigan State to commanding wins against the Iowa Hawkeyes and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Spartans' schedule only stands to get tougher with conference play in full swing, but they aren't slated to face a ranked opponent until February.
No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies — Up 1 spot in the AP Top 25 Poll
Aside from a flukey, one-point loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions back in November, the No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies have not lost a game this season. The Hokies took down both the Purdue Boilermakers and the Washington Huskies — both of whom were ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll — before the new year. This week, Buzz Williams's squad took down two ACC foes — the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Boston College Eagles —by double-digit margins. They'll look to carry that momentum into tougher upcoming matchups against the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers and No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels before the end of the month.
▼ No. 10 Nevada Wolf Pack — Down 4 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
One of the last remaining undefeated teams in the nation, the Nevada Wolf Pack dropped their first contest of the season this week and subsequently slid four spots in the AP Top 25 Poll. As if that wasn't bad enough, Nevada was widely expected to go into the NCAA tournament undefeated thanks to a weak field in the Mountain West Conference but lost to the unranked New Mexico Lobos by a 27-point margin. They likely won't face a ranked opponent again until March, but the Wolf Pack will need to right the ship before then if they want to maintain their positioning in the AP Top 25 Poll.
▼ No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats — Down 5 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats have been all over the place this season. They started the year at No. 2 in the country but fell significantly after getting walloped by the Duke Blue Devils in their first game of the season. Since then, No. 18 Kentucky has picked up big wins against the North Carolina Tar Heels and Louisville Cardinals but lost to the unranked Seton Hall Pirates and Alabama Crimson Tide. The Wildcats will have a few chances to prove their worth with a gauntlet of consecutive matchups against the No. 11 Auburn Tigers, No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs, and No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks later in the month.
▼ Nebraska Cornhuskers — Dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll
Last week, the Nebraska Cornhuskers returned to the AP Top 25 Poll after (wrongfully, in my opinion) getting booted from the rankings the week before. This time, their exit was entirely warranted. Nebraska dropped a close contest against the Maryland Terrapins on the road before losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes just four days later. With only a home contest against the unranked Penn State Nittany Lions on their schedule this week, the Cornhuskers should have an opportunity to reset and notch a win before taking on the No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers and No. 6 Michigan State Spartans the week after.
▼ No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks — Down 2 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
After dominating top-ranked opponents for much of nonconference play, head coach Bill Self and the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks have experienced quite a fall from grace of late. The Jayhawks picked up their first loss of the season against the No. 18 Arizona State Sun Devils in late December and managed to find their bearings against the Eastern Michigan Eagles to close out 2018. Kansas came away with a narrow edge against the No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners Wednesday but lost by 17 to the previously unranked Iowa State Cyclones on the road and dropped two spots in this week's AP Top 25 Poll. As if the loss wasn't enough, the Jayhawks lost star big man Udoka Azubuike for the season after he tore ligaments in his hand during practice. Now, Kansas will have to welcome a new player into their starting rotation and regain its composure quickly, as the Jayhawks will face the No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs Wednesday night.
▼ Iowa Hawkeyes — Dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll
The Iowa Hawkeyes had a decent week on paper, but they still fell out of the AP Top 25 Poll, which gives me license to call them losers this week. Iowa lost big to the unranked Purdue Boilermakers — who very well may reappear in the AP Top 25 Poll in the coming weeks — before taking down the then-No. 24 Nebraska Cornhuskers by nine. They have contests against the Northwestern Wildcats and No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes on their schedule this week, which could be just the opponents the Hawkeyes need to prove themselves worthy of another stint in the rankings come next Monday.
▼ No. 2 Michigan Wolverines / No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers — Same spot in AP Top 25 Poll as last week
Obviously, two of the only three remaining undefeated teams in the country are not losers, but their positioning in the rankings this week certainly suggests they are. This week, the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines took down the Penn State Nittany Lions and No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers by more than 10 points apiece this week. Likewise, the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers beat the then-No. 9 Florida State Seminoles by 13 Saturday. Still, none of that was enough to dethrone the Duke Blue Devils despite the fact that they already have a loss on their resume and have only faced an unranked Clemson Tigers team since the new year. Luckily for the Cavaliers, they'll have their chance to take down Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in two weeks, but not before welcoming the red-hot No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies to their home court.
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