Consider this article a preemptive strike on what is almost certain to happen next week. You see, Creighton lost at home to Marquette – a team that’s ranked #32 on Kenpom. This loss, coupled with the loss of star point guard Mo Watson, was enough to drop the Blue Jays nine fucking spots. One game. Sure, you could argue they’re just 1-1 without Watson, and they haven’t proven they’ll be as good going forward, but how about you let them lose some games before dropping them nine spots.

Why is this significant? Because Duke lost at home to North Carolina State last night, a team that’s ranked 75th on Kenpom. I’m already pissed that Duke won’t be dropping nine spots next week because Duke. I know Creighton lost their star point guard, but if rankings are a reflection of what you’ve done and what your resume is, they’ve lost two games – the other being to the #1 team in the country. Duke is also playing without its coach and injured players themselves, so even the rationale you use for dropping Creighton would apply to Duke. We’ll see where the chips fall next week.

#1 Villanova Wildcats [35] (LW: 1) – Sure, whatever.

#2 Kansas Jayhawks [28] (LW: 2) – Not sure how the team that’s undefeated in the best conference isn’t number one, but sure, whatever.

#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs [2] (LW: 4) – The only way to move up in the dreadful WCC is to have everyone else lose, so thanks UCLA.

#4 Kentucky Wildcats (LW: 5) – Let’s play a little game a guess how many games Kentucky will win in the SEC by LESS than 10 points. They’re currently 7-0 with only two single digit victories. I’m going to guess it only happens twice more. 18-0 with only four single digit wins in the mid major SEC.

#5 Baylor Bears (LW: 6) – How on earth do you go 18-1 with your lone loss by 19 freaking points? Are we sure Baylor just isn’t allergic to the #1 ranking? This seems like an allergic reaction.

#6 Florida State Seminoles (LW: 10) – The Seminoles keep surging up the rankings in what was supposed to be the best conference this season, but they’ve only played two road games ALL SEASON. Seven of their next ten are on the road, so let’s just hold off on the hype a little bit.

#7 Arizona Wildcats (LW: 14) – Winning at UCLA may be one of the most impressive wins this season, and the Wildcats just got Allonzo Trier back from a PED suspension. I see no reason why they can’t win the Pac 12 and get the one seed in the West Region.

#8 UCLA Bruins (LW: 3) – Eventually not being able to play defense was going to catch up with the Bruins. No seriously, their adjusted defense is ranked 127th. Does that sound like a national title contender to you? No.

#9 North Carolina Tar Heels (LW: 9) – Ah, yes. The ACC (God’s gift to college basketball), allowed North Carolina to not play a top-100 location adjusted game for an entire week. Seriously. Home against Syracuse (#59) and at Boston College (#164). The ACC might get 11 or 12 teams in, but they get to play super tough games like this.

#10 Oregon Ducks (LW: 11) – Oregon hasn’t lost since November 21st, and they too, have beaten UCLA. But sure, jump Arizona three spots above them. Fuck it, rankings don’t matter anyway.

#11 Butler Bulldogs (LW: 13) – I’ve made my point about how I think Butler will advance in the dance, but two of their losses are baffling. Indiana State (#194) and St. John’s (#111) are not good, but Butler also has 13 top-100 wins including #7 Arizona and the #1 team in the land. Stop losing to shit piles, Butler!

#12 Virginia Cavaliers (LW: 16) – Oh wow, here I thought North Carolina had an easy week. Virginia moves up four spots for winning at Boston College (#164) and beating Georgia Tech (#99) at home? I guess the ACC really isn’t that good if the rankings to reflect that, so sure, move Virginia up four spots for not shitting the bed.

#13 Louisville Cardinals (LW: 12) – Some could say that Louisville played a close game (5 points) at Florida State and you wouldn’t technically be wrong. But Louisville was losing 14-0 (yes, still basketball), and never truly threatened. But, alas, we’re in the “jack up the ACC teams” portion of the AP poll, so what are you going to do?

#14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (LW: 15) – Notre Dame lost to Florida State and actually moved up. Makes sense, because ACC!

#15 Wisconsin Badgers (LW: 17) – The Badgers should have lost to Minnesota. I watched that game. Wisconsin was holding for a last second shot, got stripped and fouled the Gopher player on a half court heave. The refs ruled that the clock had expired, but no. I saw it with my own eyes. Moving the Badgers up two spots for that game and beating Michigan at home is fulfilling the requirement that I’ve touched on earlier that requires one B1G team to be in the top-15 no matter how awful they actually are.

#16 Creighton Blue Jays (LW: 7) – See above. Creighton may fall further as losses pile up without Mo Watson, but can we let them lose the damn games first?

#17 Duke Blue Devils (LW: 18) – Lol, the most talented team in the country is out here losing at home to NC State (yes, that was after the rankings), and has now lost four of their last seven. Find me another team that could lose four of seven and not fall father than 17/18?

#18 West Virginia Mountaineers (LW: 7) – What the hell are the Mountaineers doing? Losing at Kansas State is respectable, losing at home as a top-10 team is not. WYD?

#19 Cincinnati Bearcats (LW: 20) – I remember saying a couple weeks ago that the Bearcats may not lose in the AAC, and 7-0 is a good start. Their hardest remaining game is Thursday against Xavier – which is, of course, non-conference.

#20 Purdue Boilermakers (LW: 21) – The difference between Purdue not playing a top-100 location adjusted game and North Carolina/Virginia not playing one, is that nobody thought the B1G was supposed to be good. So congrats on beating Penn State and Illinois at home, Purdue. Way to not pull a West Virginia.

#21 Saint Mary’s Gaels (LW: 23) – Beating Pacific and Pepperdine at home isn’t impressive. Neither is the 17-point beatdown you let Gonzaga put on you. Gaels better hope other teams keep losing to keep their ranking, because their wins certainly aren’t keeping them here.

#22 Maryland Terrapins (LW: 25) – Oh, sure, the Terrapins are 17-2 with only four top-50 wins. In the B1G. Seriously. Excuse me for not believing that a team that lost at home to Nebraska is a legit top-25 team. Especially when they only play both Purdue and Wisconsin once each.

#23 South Carolina Gamecocks (LW: 24) – Congrats, you had your marquee game against Kentucky and even though your gun wasn’t fully loaded, you still lost by 16. I think I’ve figured it out by the way. All the major conferences have to have at least two ranked teams because there’s no reason either South Carolina or Florida should still be ranked otherwise.

#24 Xavier Muskateers (LW: 22) – The ‘X’ has played four top-25 games and lost them all. At some point, you have to win…something.

#25 Florida Gators (LW: 19) – Losing at South Carolina while going (0-17) from 3 AND losing at home to Vanderbilt should not be something a ranked team does in a week, but here we are. Why is this spot not given to Kansas State? This is trash.

Try again next week.