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Ohio State tops The List for the eighth straight week but it's the team at the bottom that is most interesting.
Belmont checks in at No. 25 after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament last weekend. The Bruins are 30-4, making them the first team in Division I to reach 30 wins this season. They become the first low-major team in the four-year history of these rankings to crack The List.
Following Ohio State in the top five are Kansas, Duke, Pittsburgh and San Diego State. The next five are Brigham Young, Purdue, Texas, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
Ohio State remained No. 1 by whipping Penn State 82-61 and Wisconsin 93-65 to clinch the regular-season title in the Big Ten. Following the Buckeyes in the top five are Kansas, Duke, Pittsburgh and San Diego State. Rounding out the top 10 are Brigham Young, Purdue, Texas, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
Xavier is the biggest gainer this week, as it checks in at No. 21 after not being ranked last week. St. John's took the biggest tumble falling off The List from No. 20. Joining Xavier and Belmont as newcomers this week are Nevada-Las Vegas and Kansas State. In addition to St. John's, Vanderbilt, Villanova and Washington dropped off The List.
Unlike The Associated Press' media poll and USA Today/ESPN's coaches (re: sports information directors) poll, we take into account subjective data to present our weekly Top 25, a cross section of Ken Pomeroy's Pomeroy Ratings at kenpom.com, the Jeff Sagarin ratings for USA Today at usatoday.com, Team Rankings at teamrankings.com, Kyle Whelliston's State of Basketball rankings at basketballstate.com and the Ratings Percentage Index, more commonly known as the RPI, which can be found at various sources. We also project the 68 teams most deserving of being in the NCAA Tournament.
1.Ohio State (29-2)
Previous Ranking: 1
Last week: Defeated Penn State 82-61 and No. 11 Wisconsin 93-65
This week: Big Ten Tournament
Information: The Buckeyes are 7-2 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 16-2 against teams in the top 100.
2.Kansas (29-2)
Previous Ranking: 2
Last week: Defeated Texas A&M 64-51 and Missouri 70-66
This week: Big 12 Tournament
Information: The Jayhawks are 8-2 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 18-2 against teams in the top 100.
3.Duke (27-4)
Previous Ranking: 3
Last week: Defeated Clemson 70-59 and lost to No. 9 North Carolina 81-67
This week: ACC Tournament
Information: The Blue Devils are 7-3 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 14-4 against teams in the top 100.
4.Pittsburgh (27-4)
Previous Ranking: 6
Last week: Defeated South Florida 66-50 and No. 24 Villanova 60-50
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Panthers are 9-4 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 15-4 against teams in the top 100.
5.San Diego State (29-2)
Previous Ranking: 7
Last week: Defeated Wyoming 85-58 and Colorado State 66-48
This week: Utah on Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament
Information: The Aztecs are 5-2 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 11-2 against teams in top 100.
6.Brigham Young (28-3)
Previous Ranking: 4
Last week: Lost to New Mexico 82-64, defeated Wyoming 102-78
This week: Mountain West Conference Tournament
Information: The Cougars are 9-1 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 13-3 against teams in the top 100.
7.Purdue (25-6)
Previous Ranking: 5
Last week: Defeated Illinois 75-67, lost to Iowa 67-65
This week: Big Ten Tournament
Information: The Boilermakers 6-3 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 16-5 against teams in the top 100.
8.Texas (25-6)
Previous Ranking: 8
Last week: Lost to Kansas State 75-70, defeated Baylor 60-54
This week: Big 12 Tournament
Information: The Longhorns are 7-3 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 11-6 against teams in the top 100.
9.North Carolina (24-6)
Previous Ranking: 9
Last week: Defeated Florida State 72-70 and No. 3 Duke 81-67
This week: ACC Tournament
Information: The Tar Heels are 6-4 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 14-5 against teams in the top 100.
10.Notre Dame (25-5)
Previous Ranking: 12
Last week: Defeated No. 24 Villanova 93-72 and No. 18 Connecticut 70-67
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Fighting Irish are 10-4 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 15-5 against teams in the top 100.
11.Wisconsin (23-7)
Previous Ranking: 11
Last week: Defeated Indiana 77-67, lost to No. 1 Ohio State 93-65
This week: Big Ten Tournament
Information: The Badgers are 5-6 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 13-7 against teams in the top 100.
12.Syracuse (25-6)
Previous Ranking: 10
Last week: Defeated DePaul 107-59
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Orange are 8-4 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 12-6 against teams in the top 100.
13.Kentucky (22-8)
Previous Ranking: 14
Last week: Defeated No. 23 Vanderbilt 68-66 and Tennessee 64-58
This week: SEC Tournament
Information: The Wildcats are 8-5 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 9-7 against teams in the top 100.
14.Florida (24-6)
Previous Ranking: 17
Last week: Defeated Alabama 78-51 and No. 23 Vanderbilt 86-76
This week: SEC Tournament
Information: The Gators are 10-2 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 15-3 against teams in the top 100.
15.Utah State (28-3)
Previous Ranking: 15
Last week: Defeated New Mexico State 58-54 and Louisiana Tech 72-30
This week: Western Athletic Conference Tournament
Information: The Aggies are 1-2 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 2-2 against teams in the top 100.
16.Louisville (23-8)
Previous Ranking: 16
Last week: Defeated Providence 87-60, lost to No. 19 West Virginia 72-70
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Cardinals are 9-6 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 11-7 against teams in the top 100.
17.Georgetown (21-9)
Previous Ranking: 13
Last week: Lost to No. 22 Cincinnati 69-47
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Hoyas are 8-9 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 10-9 against teams in the top 100.
18.West Virginia (20-10)
Previous Ranking: 19
Last week: Defeated No. 18 Connecticut 65-56 and No. 16 Louisville 72-70
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Mountaineers are 8-7 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 12-10 against the teams in the top 100.
19.Cincinnati (24-7)
Previous Ranking: 22
Last week: Defeated Marquette 67-60 and No. 13 Georgetown 69-47
This week: Big East Tournament
Information: The Bearcats are 5-7 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 8-7 against teams in the top 100.
20.Arizona (25-6)
Previous Ranking: 21
Last week: Defeated Oregon State 70-59 and Oregon 90-82
This week: Pac-10 Tournament
Information: The Wildcats are 2-4 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 8-5 against teams in the top 100.
21.Xavier (24-6)
Previous Ranking: NR
Last week: Defeated Charlotte 68-48 and Saint Louis 66-55
This week: Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament
Information: The Musketeers are 3-3 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 9-4 against teams in the top 100.
22.Connecticut (21-9)
Previous Ranking: 18
Last week: Lost to No. 19 West Virginia 65-56 and No. 12 Notre Dame 70-67
This week: DePaul on Tuesday in the Big East Tournament
Information: The Huskies are 8-8 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 12-9 against teams in the top 100.
23.Nevada-Las Vegas (23-7)
Previous Ranking: NR
Last week: Defeated Utah 78-58
This week: Air Force on Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament
Information: The Rebels are 3-6 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 7-6 against teams in the top 100.
24.Kansas State (22-9)
Previous Ranking: NR
Last week: Defeated No. 8 Texas 75-70 and Iowa State 67-55
This week: Big 12 Tournament
Information: The Wildcats are 3-6 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 10-9 against teams in the top 100.
25.Belmont (30-4)
Previous Ranking: 25
Last week: Defeated Kennesaw State 72-57, Mercer 80-72 and North Florida 87-46 to win the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
This week: Idle
Information: The Bruins are 0-3 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI and 2-3 against teams in the top 100.
Dropped out: No. 20 St. John's, No. 23 Vanderbilt, No. 24 Villanova, No. 25 Washington
Others to watch: Gonzaga (24-9), Michigan (19-12), New Mexico (20-11), Richmond (24-7), Temple (24-6)
Projected NCAA Field of 68
ACC (5): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina
America East (1): Boston University
Atlantic Sun (1): Belmont
Atlantic 10 (3): Richmond, Temple, Xavier
Big 12 (6): Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M
Big East (10): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Big Sky (1): Montana
Big South (1): UNC Asheville
Big Ten (5): Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Big West (1): Long Beach State
Colonial (2): George Mason, Old Dominion
Conference USA (3): Memphis, UAB, UTEP
Horizon (1): Butler
Ivy (1): Harvard
Metro Atlantic (1): Saint Peter's
Mid-American (1): Buffalo
Mid-Eastern (1): Hampton
Missouri Valley (1): Indiana State
Mountain West (4): Brigham Young, Colorado State, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State
Northeast (1): Long Island
Ohio Valley (1): Morehead State
Pac-10 (3): Arizona, UCLA, Washington
Patriot (1): Bucknell
SEC (5): Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SWAC (1): Jackson State
Southern (1): Wofford
Southland (1): Sam Houston State
Summit (1): Oakland
Sun Belt(1): North Texas
WAC (1): Utah State
West Coast (2): Gonzaga, Saint Mary's
John Perrotto is an author of Basketball Prospectus.
You can contact John by clicking here or click here to see John's other articles.
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The List (02/28)
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