It’s a new week and we’re back with a new Top 25 poll. The usual analysis after the jump…
Note that this week Rob Dauster of BiaH is filling in for one or usual pollsters.
QnD Analysis.
- Despite a lackluster couple of games this week, Kansas remains atop our poll with three of the four #1 overall votes. The Jayhawks will be tested tonight in Austin, and if they can pull through safely in that one, they may be primed to finish the regular season with one loss. Syracuse is ready to take over at #1 should KU falter, and has two home games this week against struggling teams by which to do so.
- In n’ Out. There wasn’t much turnover this week at the bottom of the poll for once, as #22 Texas A&M and #23 Wake Forest rode strong weeks into the rankings. Both teams have been in and out of the poll all season, so no big surprise there. They replaced Missouri and Georgia Tech, both of whom dropped games last week but will probably be back in the rankings soon enough. The bottom of the Top 25 this year has been, shall we say, fluid?
- Variance. This week, #11 Wisconsin and #16 Gonzaga had the most disagreement among the pollsters. The Badgers were rated anywhere from #9 to #17, while the Zags were from #11 to #18. Actually, most of the poll this week was fairly settled, with the majority of teams falling into a relatively small interval. As always, there was also some disagreement among the bottom teams, as three pollsters identified #19 Vanderbilt as the nineteenth-best team in America, while one pollster had the Dores unranked. Similarly, Texas A&M, Pitt and Baylor all had support as high as the #18 mark while also being unranked depending on the pollster.
- Conference Call. Big East (5), Big 12 (5), Big 10 (4), SEC (3), ACC (2), MWC (2), A10 (1), WCC (1), Horizon (1), MVC (1).