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NCAA Basketball: Texas rises, Gonzaga claims No. 1 spot in latest AP poll

By Holden Walter-Warner

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs holds up the tournament MVP trophy after the 2018 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs holds up the tournament MVP trophy after the 2018 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns reacts as his team plays the Citadel Bulldogs at the Frank Erwin Center on November 16, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns reacts as his team plays the Citadel Bulldogs at the Frank Erwin Center on November 16, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

2. The more stunning rise of Texas

While Mississippi State was enduring a double-digit drop in the rankings, Texas was debuting at the 17th spot, the highest debut of the season for any team.

The Longhorns did record one of the signature victories of the season, a neutral site win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving.

The significance of the win obscured what happened next: the Longhorns returned to the court the very next night in the Las Vegas Invitational title game to face the Michigan State Spartans, a team slightly less prestigious than North Carolina. Texas lost that game by double digits.

Considering those were the only two games Texas played last week, it’s hard to justify jumping from unranked to No. 17 after one win and one loss.

To this point, Texas’ schedule has been just as relatively unimpressive as Mississippi State’s has been. They beat Arkansas by a couple of points, but haven’t played any other major conference opponents.

Texas is only scheduled to play one more ranked opponent in their non-conference schedule: Purdue on December 9. Win that game and suddenly you look like you should be on the edge of the top 15.

The Longhorns are good, but they’re not as good as their ranking right now.

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