RTC Top 25: Week 12 Edition
Posted by Bennet Hayes on February 9th, 2016It’s only fitting that in a college basketball season immersed with parity, there is little consensus anywhere in the RTC 25 as we head into the home stretch of the regular season. Look to the top of the poll and you’ll find three different teams receiving first-place votes; elsewhere in the Top 25, opinions range widely on perennial powers North Carolina (voted anywhere from #2 to #9), Arizona (some didn’t rank the Wildcats, others put them as high as #11), and Kentucky (votes ranged from #14 to out of the poll). There’s even a split opinion on perhaps the bluest blood of all, as Duke finds itself right on the boundary of ranked and unranked. The Blue Devils’ Monday night victory over #14 Louisville will help edge them towards the better side of that cutoff, but note that these rankings were put together before all Monday action. Besides the boost for Duke, this also means that #1 Oklahoma won’t get bonus points for surviving #23 Texas late Monday. The Sooners kept pace for a night, but Saturday’s visit from #9 Kansas is one of a number of matchups this week that has the potential to shake up the polls once again. This week’s Quick N’ Dirty after the jump.
Quick N’ Dirty Analysis.
- Oklahoma, Villanova, Maryland all receive first place votes. The Sooners are again the top team in the poll, despite losing Saturday to a Kansas State team that was just 2-7 in the Big 12. Five of eight voters were unfazed by OU’s Bramlage Coliseum troubles, but #2 Villanova and #3 Maryland also received first-place votes this week. Both the Wildcats and Terrapins have easy weeks ahead: Villanova faces Big East cellar-dwellers DePaul and St. John’s, while Maryland dips out of D1 to take on Bowie State before hosting Wisconsin on Saturday. If both hold serve and Oklahoma fails its weekend test against Kansas, next week’s top spot will be very much up for grabs.
- Big 12 leads the way with six teams in poll. Texas’ ascension into the Top 25 gives the Big 12 more teams in the poll than any other league. The league also leads the way (along with the Big Ten) in conference members in the top ten (3). This picture of Big 12 strength fits with most of the computer ratings, as the league is easily KenPom‘s top-rated conference. The deluge of talented teams makes predicting individual team’s performance week-to-week difficult (see: Kansas’ upcoming week, with games against #10 West Virginia and #1 Oklahoma), but it’s a safe bet that the Big 12 ends the regular season with the unofficial title of best league in the land.
- Welcome back to the poll, Atlantic 10. The A-10 has a representative in the RTC 25 for the first time in over a month, as Dayton re-enters the poll at #22. The Flyers have dominated a weak A-10, ripping off seven straight wins to improve to 9-1 in the league. A Friday night road trip to Rhode Island kicks off a relatively tricky – for the A-10 – home stretch for Archie Miller’s bunch.
Game of the Week. #9 Kansas at #1 Oklahoma. There are a lot of great matchups this week, but the rematch between the Jayhawks and Sooners stands out as a clear main attraction. There can be no overstating the drama of these two teams’ #1 versus #2 duel in Allen Fieldhouse last month; is there any way round two can deliver a similar amount of intrigue?
Keep Tabs On. #7 Michigan State at #17 Purdue; #10 West Virginia at #9 Kansas; #4 Iowa at #24 Indiana; #19 Kentucky at South Carolina; #14 Louisville at Notre Dame; #5 Virginia at Duke; #23 Texas at #12 Iowa State; Gonzaga at #21 SMU; #24 Indiana at #7 Michigan State; #20 USC at #16 Arizona.
Conference Call. Big 12 (6), Big Ten (5), ACC (4), Pac-12 (3), Big East (2), SEC (2), AAC (1), Atlantic 10 (1), Missouri Valley (1).
