It's time to send a new Top 25 men's basketball ballot to The Associated Press.
I kicked out Indiana after it lost to Iowa and Northwestern.
I booted Baylor after its home losses to TCU and Kansas State. Baylor has lost three in a row. No shameful losses in this skid, but I'll let Baylor right itself before I put the Bears on my ballot again.
I evicted New Mexico after it lost to Fresno State and UNLV.
I kicked out LSU after it lost to Kentucky and Texas A&M.
I did not need to add Kansas State to my ballot because I already ranked K-State last week.
But I did need to pick a new No. 1 in the wake of Purdue losing, so I eyed Houston and Kansas for that spot.
Here is the ballot:
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1. Houston (16-1) moves up two spots after beating SMU and winning at Cincinnati. I looked at both Houston and Kansas when determining my new No. 1, but I decided to keep Houston ahead of Kansas on my ballot. The win over UVa in Charlottesville still holds up as a marquee road win, and it's not as if Kansas beat another ranked team this past week to warrant jumping Houston. Next for Houston: Wed. vs. South Florida.
2. Kansas (14-1) moves up three spots after winning at Texas Tech and winning at West Virginia. Next: Tuesday vs. Oklahoma and a big game Saturday against Iowa State.
3. Purdue (15-1) drops two spots after losing at home to Rutgers, beating Ohio State and beating Penn State at the Palestra. Next: Friday vs. Nebraska.
4. UConn (15-2) drops two spots after losing at Providence and beating Creighton. Next: a big game Wed. at Marquette and a Sunday game against St. John's.
5. Tennessee (13-2) moves up two spots after beating Miss. State and winning at South Carolina. Next: Tuesday against Vandy and Saturday against Kentucky.
6. Gonzaga (14-3) moves up two spots after winning at San Francisco and at Santa Clara. Next: Thursday at BYU and Sat. against Portland.
7. Alabama (13-2) moves up two spots after beating Ole Miss and squashing Kentucky. Next: a big game Wed. at Arkansas and a Sat. game against LSU.
8. UCLA (14-2) moves up three spots after beating USC. Next: Thursday against Utah and Sat. against Colorado.
9. Arizona (14-2) drops five spots after beating Washington and losing to Washington State. Next: Thursday at Oregon State and Sat. at Oregon.
10. Kansas State (14-1) moves up 14 spots after winning at Texas and winning in OT at Baylor. Next: Tues. vs. Oklahoma State and a big game Saturday at TCU.
11. Texas (13-2) falls five spots after losing to Kansas State and winning at Oklahoma State. Next: a big game Wed. against TCu and a Sat. game against Texas Tech.
12. Xavier (13-3) moves up four spots after winning at Villanova. Next: Wed. against Creighton and a big game Sunday against Marquette.
13. Iowa State (12-2) moves up 10 spots after beating Oklahoma and winning at TCU. Next: Tues. against Texas Tech and the big game Saturday at Kansas.
14. Miami (13-2) falls two spots after losing at Ga. Tech. Next: Wed. vs. Boston College and Saturday at N.C. State.
15. Virginia (11-3) drops five spots after losing at Pitt and beating Syracuse. Next: Tuesday against North Carolina and Sat. at Florida State.
16. The College of Charleston (16-1) moves up a spot after winning at N.C. A&T and beating Delaware. Next: Wed. at UNC Wilmington and Sat. against Elon.
17. Wisconsin (11-3) falls four spots after beating Minnesota and losing at Illinois. Next: a good game Tues. against Michigan State and a good game Sat. at Indiana.
18. TCU (13-2) stays here after winning at Baylor and losing to Iowa State. Next: the big game Wed. at Texas and the big game Sat. against Kansas State.
19. Providence (14-3) cracks my ballot here after beating UConn and St. John's. Providence also owns a December double-OT win over Marquette. Next: Sat. at Creighton.
20. San Diego State (12-3) returns to my ballot here after a four-week absence after winning at Wyoming. San Diego State owns a November win over Ohio State. Next: Tues. vs. Nevada and a good game Sat. against New Mexico.
21. Duke (12-4) falls six spots after losing big at N.C. State and winning at Boston College. Next: Wed. against Pitt and a good game Sat. at Clemson.
22. Arkansas (12-3) stays here after beating Missouri and losing at Auburn. Next: the big game Wed. against Alabama and a Sat. game at Vandy.
23. Missouri (13-2) falls two spots after losing at Arkansas and beating Vandy. Next: Wed. at Texas A&M and Sat. at Florida.
24. Marquette (13-4) returns to my ballot here after a two-week absence after winning at St. John's and beating Georgetown. Marquette owns a November win over Baylor. Next: the big game Wed. against UConn and a big game Sunday at Xavier.
25. For this last spot, I looked very hard at leaving Baylor on my ballot and putting the Bears here. I also eyed Northwestern, Clemson, Auburn, Rutgers, Michigan State and Saint Mary's. But in the end, I decided to have Florida Atlantic crack my ballot here. FAU (14-1) has won 13 in a row since suffering a November loss at Ole Miss, including a win at Florida and wins over North Texas and UAB. Next for FAU: Wed. at FIU and Sat. against North Texas.
Mark Berman
Mark Berman covers Virginia Tech men’s basketball and many other teams at the university. He also helps cover other colleges, including Radford, VMI, Roanoke, Washington and Lee and Ferrum.
