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My Top 25 ballot

Time to send another Top 25 ballot to The Associated Press.

I kicked out Wyoming after its loss to Boise State.

I evicted Wichita State after its loss to Evansville, although Wichita might be back on my ballot as soon as next week.

I booted Oklahoma State after its loss to Oklahoma.

I didn’t have to kick out Georgetown after its lopsided home loss to Pitt because I had kicked the Hoyas out last week.

I also didn’t have to evict Cincinnati after its loss at home to Notre Dame because I kicked the Bearcats out last week.

I also didn’t have to evict UNLV after its loss to New Mexico because I kicked out UNLV last week.

And I didn’t have to find room in my ballot for Oregon after its win over Arizona because I already have been ranking Oregon in recent weeks.

Here is the ballot:

1. Louisville moves up 2 spots after Duke and Michigan both lost. Louisville beat Seton Hall and South Florida this past week. Since losing to Duke without Dieng, the Cardinals have won 10 in a row. Next: big game at UConn on Monday and huge game against Syracuse on Sat. Tough week — will Louisville still be No. 1 on my ballot next Sunday night?

2. Duke drops a spot after beating Clemson and losing at NC State. I can’t drop Duke more than one spot because of its great body of work, plus its lone loss came on the road against a ranked team so no shame there. But with Ryan Kelly hurt, Duke is no longer as formidable. Next: Thursday against woeful Ga. Tech.

3. Indiana moves up 2 spots after beating Penn St. and a really good Minnesota team. Next: Tues. against Wisconsin and Sun. at Northwestern.

4. Michigan falls 2 spots after beating Nebraska and losing at Ohio State. Can’t drop Michigan more than 2 spots after losing on the road to Ohio State. No surprise they lost that game, and it was a close one. Next: huge game Thursday at Minn.

5. Kansas moves up a spot after beating Iowa St. in OT and beating Texas Tech. Next: Mon. againat Baylor and Sat. at Texas.

6. Gonzaga moves up a spot after beating a good St. Mary’s team. Next: Thursday at Portland and huge game Sat. at Butler.

7. Syracuse moves up a spot after beating Providence and Villanova. But with Southerland ineligible, SU could be vulnerable. Next: huge game Sat. at Louisville.

8. Minnesota moves up a spot after winning big at Illinois and giving Indiana a challenge before losing on the road. Next: huge game with Michigan on Thursday.

9. Butler moves up a spot after beating St. Joe’s and Datyon. I think Butler keeps being ranked too low in the poll. Butler is a top-10 team. Next: Richmond on Wed. and huge game with Gonzaga on Sat.

10. Creighton moves up a spot after beating Drake and Missouri State. Next: Tues. vs. Northern Iowa and big game Sat. at Wichita State.

11. Arizona falls 7 spots after losing at Oregon and beating Oregon State. Arizona hadn’t been that impressive in its recent wins prior to the Oregon game, so that factors into Arizona falling 7 spots too. Next: nice test Sat. at Arizona State.

12. NC State moves up 4 spots after beating Ga. Tech and Duke. Next: Next: Wed. at reeling Maryland and Sun. against Clemson.

13. Oregon moves up 7 spots after beating Arizona and Arizona State. Great week. Oregon deserves to be ranked. Next: Thurs. at Southern Cal and big game Sat. at UCLA.

14. San Diego State stays here after beating Fresno State and winning in OT against a good Colorado State team Next: good game Wed. vs. UNLV and another good one Sat. at Wyoming,

15. Kansas State stays here after beating WVU. Next: Wed. at TCU and Sat. vs. Oklahoma.

16. Ohio State returns to my ballot here after beating Purdue and Michigan. OSU finally has a quality win, so they go back in the ballot. This Michigna game is the type of win I’ve been waiting for. Next: big game Sat at Mich. St.

17. Florida stays here after beating Georgia and LSU. Next: Thurs. at Texas A&M and big game Sat against Missouri.

18. Marquette stays here after beating Pitt on the road in OT. Marquette deserves to be ranked. Next: Wed. vs. Seton Hall and Sat. at Cincinnati.

19. Missour falls 7 spots after beating Alabama and losing to Ole Miss. With Bowers hurt, Missouri is not as formidable. Next: Wed. vs. Georgia and big game Sat. at Florida.

20. Illinois falls 7 spots after a lopsided home loss to Minn. and a lopsided road loss against Wisconisn. Illini have lost 3 of last 4 games. The one win in that span was a convincing win over Ohio State. Ordinarily I would keep Illinois ranked ahead of OSU, but I decided to return OSU to my ballot 4 spots ahead of Illinois because of the Illini’s very bad week. Next: Thurs. against Northwestern.

21. Michigan St. stays here after beating Iowa and Nebraska. Next: Wed. at Penn St. and big game Sat. vs. Ohio State.

22. VCU moves up 2 spots after beating Dayton and St. Bonaventure. VCU deserves to be ranked. Next: Thurs. against St. Joe’s and Sat. at Duquesne.

23. New Mexico returns to my ballot here after beating UNLV and Fresno State. Next: big game Wed. at Boise State.

24. Notre Dame falls 2 spots after winning at Cincinnati and losing at home to UConn. Next: Tues. at St. John’s  and Sat. against Rutgers.

25. For this last spot, I looked at Boise State, Ole Miss, Wisconsin and UConn. But I decided to return UCLA to my ballot here. The Bruins are coming off road wins over Utah and Colorado. They have won 9 in a row, including a win over Missouri. Next: Thurs. against Oregon State and big game Sat. against Oregon.

Join the conversation [ADD A COMMENT]

1 COMMENT

  1. crooked road | January 14, 2013 at 11:42 am

    It’s a shame that we are halfway done with the Hokie basketball season, and the overwhelming focus is still on Hokie football. Then again, that was Jim Weaver’s intent when hiring Johnson and Johnson knew it coming in. Too bad that won’t change to an equal balance anytime soon. All’s quiet until Saturday. Big chance for a home win against Wake…

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Thursday, May 23, 2013

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Mark Berman keeps you up to date with Virginia Tech men's basketball, plus the ACC and the national scene as an AP Top 25 voter.

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