NCAA Basketball: Baylor falls in latest top 25 rankings
By Doug Winkey
We have a new team atop the NCAA basketball rankings after Baylor dropped at West Virginia.
Will the top 25 ever settle down? Just a week after Baylor ascended to the number one slot, they got rocked in Morgantown. There is now just one undefeated team left in the country as we continue through the middle of January.
One thing that keeps rankings like these interesting is which teams like to hang around on the periphery. Dedicated readers will notice how the ‘Just Missed’ teams change frequently, as fringe contenders have good or bad weeks. It is also a great place to mention squads that are doing great in conference play, but lack the name-brand respect of other conferences and schools.
However, the ACC’s competitive dominance is one consistent factor through the year. The conference has four or five teams with legitimate Final Four aspirations based on either their talent level or recent play. After that, it looks like the Big 12 and Pac-12 have three potential Final Four teams, the Big Ten and Big East have two each, and the SEC has just one true contender in Kentucky. The upcoming Big 12-SEC Challenge in late January could go a long way towards changing the current perception of the SEC.
Things are sure to change even more in the top 25 as the conference races continue to tighten up. We have already seen championship-worthy games and we aren’t even close to the end of the conference season.