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5 biggest winners and losers in college basketball this week
5 biggest winners and losers in college basketball this week
Meredith Cash,Meredith CashJan 14, 2020, 01:31 IST
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY SportsA number of big-name programs - including the reigning national champions - have fallen considerably or dropped out of the rankings altogether.
The tenth week of the 2019-2020 basketball season has come and gone, and - as has become the norm this year - the AP Top 25 Poll has endured a shake-up this week.
For the fourth week in a row, the Gonzaga Bulldogs sit atop the college basketball rankings, but a number of big-name programs have fallen considerably or dropped out of the rankings altogether.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with five teams in the AP Top 25 Poll, while the Big East and Big 12follow close behind with four apiece in the rankings.
Here are the five biggest winners and losers from Week 10 of the 2019-2020 college basketball season.
▲ No. 2 Baylor Bears — Up 2 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
The Baylor Bears had the biggest week in college basketball, and it's not even close. After 23 years in the Big 12, the Bears notched its first win against the conference heavyweight Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse — and they did so in dominant fashion. Baylor notched a 13-point win against Bill Self's Jayhawks in the notoriously hostile arena to take an early lead in the Big 12 standings. The Bears move on to face the Iowa State Cyclones and Oklahoma State Cowboys this week and will have to wait nearly a month before facing its next ranked opponent.
▲ No. 16 Wichita State Shockers — Up 7 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
As tends to happen every year, the Wichita State Shockers started the college basketball season unranked but slowly crawled their way into the top 25. This week was a particularly good one for Gregg Marshall's squad, as they took down the then-No. 21 Memphis Tigers before taking down the Connecticut Huskies in double overtime on the road, good for a seven-point jump in the AP Poll. Wichita State is sitting pretty with Temple and Houston next on its schedule and just one top-25 matchup remaining in the regular season.
▲ No. 18 Seton Hall Pirates — Enter the AP Top 25 Poll
Seton Hall started the year hot, but injuries to two of its leading scorers — Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili — derailed the latter half of its nonconference slate. Since Powell's return, however, the Pirates have been rolling. They've won six straight contests, including a 12-point win at Xavier Wednesday and a 69-55 victory over Markus Howard and the Marquette Eagles Saturday. Seton Hall catapulted to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 Poll this week, and it'll have a chance to prove itself further with a matchup against the No. 5 Butler Bulldogs on the road Wednesday night.
▲ No. 8 Oregon Ducks — Up one spot in the AP Top 25 Poll
The Oregon Ducks were one of last week's biggest losers after falling on the road to the then-unranked Colorado Buffaloes in their conference opener, but they bounced back in a big way this week. The Ducks edged out their toughest Pac-12 opponent by one in a tough overtime contest against the then-No. 24 Arizona Wildcats. The Wildcats dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll as a result, while Oregon rose one spot.
▲ No. 5 Butler Bulldogs — Up one spot in the AP Top 25 Poll
It's time to talk about the Butler Bulldogs. Though they've been rolling all season, they notched a major victory in their 71-57 win over the previously unranked but now-No. 25 Creighton Bluejays. Butler will play in its first top-25 matchup Wednesday as it hosts Myles Powell and the Seton Hall Pirates with a chance to move further up in the rankings and continue to make program history.
▼ No. 15 Michigan State Spartans — Down 7 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
Tom Izzo normally runs a well-oiled machine in East Lansing, but this season has been nothing if not tumultuous for his Spartans. And despite a solid 74-58 home win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers Thursday, Michigan State got annihilated on the road against the unranked Purdue Boilermakers. The 29-point loss, in which Purdue held the Spartans to just 42 points on the night, contributed to Michigan State's stunning slide this week. Fortunately for Sparty, they'll have some time to recover before hosting the unranked Wisconsin Badgers Friday night.
▼ No. 17 Maryland Terrapins — Down 5 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
The Terrapins started the week strong with a 12-point win against the then-No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes, but they struggled on the road against the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Maryland's 67-49 road loss Friday was enough to set the team back five spots in this week's AP Top 25 Poll, and a Tuesday-night road game against the Wisconsin Badgers could prove to be a trap game that sets the Terps back even further.
▼ No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes — Down 10 spots in the AP Top 25 Poll
Not so long ago, the Ohio State Buckeyes looked like one of the best teams in the country. But in the last few weeks, Chris Holtmann's team has forgotten how to win basketball games. The Buckeyes are currently nursing a four-game skid featuring double-digit losses to the Maryland Terrapins and unranked Indiana Hoosiers this week. They'll look to get back in the winning column with the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Penn State Nittany Lions on deck this week.
▼ Penn State Nittany Lions — Dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll
Penn State was flying high to start conference play, but this past week marked a major bump in the road for the Nittany Lions. They lost by double digits at Rutgers Tuesday before losing 58-49 to the unranked Wisconsin Badgers at home Saturday. Penn State will have a chance to rebound against another unranked Big Ten squad — the Minnesota Golden Gophers — on the road Wednesday night, but a Saturday matchup against the No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes may very well spell more trouble for the Nittany Lions.
▼ Virginia Cavaliers — Dropped out of the AP Top 25 Poll
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Last year's national champions have suffered quite a dry spell this week, losing to two unranked ACC opponents en route to dropping out of the AP Top 25 poll themselves. Virginia lost on the road to perennial ACC bottom-dweller Boston College Tuesday before hosting the Syracuse Orange and losing by eight on its home floor. The Cavaliers don't have much time to recover, as they have a date with the No. 9 Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee Wednesday night before taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Saturday.
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