Around the Top 25: Feb. 17
When the new top-25 rankings were released by the Associated Press on Monday, it may have come off an insult to many Northwestern fans.
The Wildcats have won seven of their last nine, which include wins over Nebraska, Wisconsin twice, No. 1 Purdue, and most recently, No. 14 Indiana.
Indiana is a team that was also on a roll, as they too knocked off the No. 1 Boilermakers and then-No. 24 Rutgers just last week.
The Hoosiers surged their way back into the top-25, but the loss to Northwestern Wednesday evening may cause them to switch places in the rankings.
In another hectic week of college basketball, No. 15 Miami took down North Carolina Monday evening in Chapel Hill, 80-72.
Sitting at 21-5, the Hurricanes are in good shape to make another valiant run in the NCAA Tournament after falling in the Elite Eight to the team that was crowned champion, the Kansas Jayhawks.
Kansas has faced a couple hiccups this season, but has averaged 84.3 points per game in its current three-game winning streak.
The No. 5 Jayhawks have a huge rematch this Saturday against Baylor, a team they fell to just a few short weeks ago in Waco.
No. 9 Baylor dominated West Virginia Monday evening, 79-67, and will take its four-game winning streak into the Allen Fieldhouse, a menacing atmosphere for any opponent.
No. 6 Texas has been up-and-down recently and have alternated wins and losses in its last four matchups.
Texas dropped its last matchup Monday against Texas Tech, giving the Red Raiders just its third conference win of the season.
The Big 12 remains a basketball powerhouse, with six schools earning top-25 honors.
Tuesday night, the No. 24 Providence Friars needed overtime to take down No. 18 Creighton, 94-86, to solidify its NCAA Tournament chances.
Meanwhile Kansas State fell in embarrassing fashion to Oklahoma, a team who’s barely .500 on the year.
Wednesday brought us some good matchups as well, as No. 7 Virginia narrowly escaped three-win Louisville, 61-58.
No. 16 Xavier and No. 11 Marquette also battled it out, giving us an instant classic and a taste of March Madness as Marquette got the job done at home, 69-68.
Alabama’s stint as the No. 1 team in the nation was short lived as the Crimson Tide fell on the road to No. 10 Tennessee, 68-59, in a rivalry that goes well beyond the gridiron.
In another ranked Big 12 matchup, No. 19 Iowa State managed to take down No. 22 TCU in a game that both teams needed to win.
No. 21 San Diego State may not have the toughest schedule, and its position in the top-25 may be questioned after a low-scoring 45-43 victory over nine-win Fresno.
A lot of ranked teams will be back in action on Thursday, as No. 3 Purdue looks to bounce back on the road versus Maryland, a team that’s starting to cause some buzz with tournament season right around the corner.
This may not be the best matchup for Purdue, as the Terrapins are in great shape for a tournament bid and could easily be ranked next week depending on the outcome of this matchup.
No. 13 Gonzaga has also not been its regular self this season, but have a huge rematch against Loyola Marymount after falling at home on January 19, 68-67.
No. 2 Houston travels to SMU, No. 17 St. Mary’s travels to San Diego and No. 4 UCLA hosts Stanford, all on Thursday.
With only about two weeks to go before conference tournaments tip-off, the pressure builds and the margin of error grows slimmer for bottom-end ranked schools, as well as the bubble teams just trying to stay in the conversation.
Connor Fenix is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cjf5726@psu.edu.
