The Top 10 is still fairly static after five weeks of polling, but we’re seeing all kinds of movement in and out at the bottom of the poll on a week-to-week basis.  Analysis after the jump…

QnD Analysis.

• In-n-Out. Big Ten/ACC Challenge winners Wisconsin and Illinois joined our poll this week, by virtue of big victories over ranked teams Duke and Clemson, respectively, last week.  Georgia Tech also got enough juice to enter the poll with its wins over Siena and USC last week.  Josh Pastner’s Memphis team comes in at #25 probably not because of the Tigers’ win over Arkansas State, but more because of other teams losing last week.  Speaking of which, we lost six teams (due to a three-way tie at #25 last week) — #19 Clemson (lost to Illinois at home), #23 Oklahoma State (lost at Tulsa), #24 California (lost at New Mexico), and the trio of #25 Louisville (lost to Charlotte), Florida State (lost to Ohio State) and Michigan (lost to BC).  This will probably continue as several of the teams in this week’s bottom five have tough games upcoming this week.
• What Goes Up Must Come Down. We learned that maxim again this weekend when Ohio State’s Evan Turner fell on his back after a dunk attempt and fractured two vertebrae in the process, putting the star forward out for up to eight weeks.  The pollsters punished Duke (-4), Michigan State (-4), Washington (-5) and Gonzaga (-4) for losses this week, but OSU (-5) was dropped due to Turner’s injury.  #16 UNLV, off to its best start in nearly two decades, is this week’s high riser (+5).
• Variance.  The teams this week that the pollsters are the most uncertain about are Ohio State (#12 to NR), Washington (range: #12 to #23), Gonzaga (#15 to NR) and Cincinnati (#13 to #23).  Within the top 10, West Virginia causes the most consternation, garnering votest between #2 and #7.  Most of the top 10 is fairly settled at this point, though.
• Conference Call.  Big East (6), Big 10 (5), ACC (3), Big 12 (3), SEC (3), CUSA (1), Horizon (1), Mountain West (1), Pac-10 (1), WCC (1).

rtmsf (3998 Posts)

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