Weekend upsets lead to a new look in college basketball rankings
The GIST: After last weekend’s upsets, could Monday’s poll drops capture the chaos? All we can say is: Mission accomplished.
Who’s up: In the women’s poll, the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils, who each took control of their conferences with dominant weekend wins. Both were rewarded with two- and seven-point rankings bumps, respectively. The one-loss Hoosiers are particularly hot, riding a 10-game win streak to their highest-ever ranking.
- But Indiana should watch their backs because the formidable Caitlin Clark's No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes are right behind them in the national polls and the Big Ten standings — and they’re visiting the Hoosiers tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
- As for the men, the largest boost belongs to now–No. 5 Texas, who immediately squandered the five-spot jump by losing 88–80 to new–No. 9 Kansas on Monday. Similarly, No. 10 Marquette blew a four-point jump with last night’s 87–72 L to No. 21 UConn.
Who’s down: The women of NC State. The Wolfpack had the Monday-est Monday, plummeting seven spots to No. 22 in the morning before being blown out 73–61 at home by now–No. 11 Virginia Tech that night. No. 21 Iowa State slid even further, falling nine points after back-to-back Ls to unranked foes.
- Kansas State suffered the largest drop in the men’s poll, falling from No. 7 to No. 12 after losses to the aforementioned Kansas and Texas. Will last night’s 82–61 shellacking of No. 17 TCU be enough to turn it around?
Who’s staying put: The women’s and men’s No. 1 teams. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the gals of South Carolina earned a record-breaking 33rd straight No. 1 ranking. And Purdue’s fellas — the onlymen’s squad without rankings movement — held their top spot despite dropping 79–74 to then–No. 21 Indiana on Saturday. Here’s to stability.
