Around the Top 25: Week 4
Week 4 of the College Basketball rankings have arrived, and the top teams are already being shaken up.
The Duke Blue Devils are the new No. 1 team in the country after they knocked off Gonzaga in the Continental Tire Challenge.
They beat the Bulldogs by a score of 84-81 behind 21 points from Paolo Banchero.
Gonzaga dropped to No. 3 after its loss to the Blue Devils but prevented dropping further thanks to a blowout victory over UCLA, who is now ranked No. 5.
Guard Jaden Ivey led the Purdue Boilermakers to No. 2 in this week’s rankings.
The sophomore is averaging 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season.
The reigning champs, the Baylor Bears, claimed the No. 4 spot in this week’s rankings after they won the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Villanova, Texas and Kentucky each gained a spot in the rankings after a successful week for each team.
Kansas dropped four spots to No. 8 after an upset loss against Dayton.
There were some big risers in this week’s rankings.
BYU and Arizona each jumped six spots to No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.
Both teams remained undefeated and will look to build on their momentum in their upcoming games.
By far the biggest riser was Florida, who jumped nine spots to No. 14.
The Gators had big wins against California and Ohio State in this past week.
Other teams who rose this week in the back half of the top 25 include UConn, who rose five spots to No. 17, and Southern California, who rose to No. 20.
A few teams struggled and dropped in the rankings this week.
Among them was Memphis, who fell nine spots to No. 18 after losing to now-ranked Iowa State.
The Alabama Crimson Tide dropped six spots in the rankings this week after losing to Iona.
Michigan and Seton Hall both dropped four spots to No. 24 and No. 25 to round out the rankings for Week 4.
The top 25 welcomed three new teams to the rankings while kissing three others goodbye for now.
The three new teams include Iowa State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Iowa State was able to play well and capture wins against Memphis and Xavier, which allowed them to jump into the rankings.
Michigan State joined the top 25 after advancing to the championship game in the Battle 4 Atlantis with a victory over UConn.
Wisconsin won the Maui Invitational, which pushed them into the rankings for this week.
The rankings said goodbye to Illinois, St. Bonaventure and Xavier this week.
Illinois has struggled to start the season, as it lost to Marquette and Cincinnati.
St. Bonaventure fell to Northern Iowa which bumped them out of the rankings.
Xavier lost to a now-ranked Iowa State team, but nonetheless, it got the boot in this week’s top 25.
In total, 13 teams climbed in the rankings while nine others dropped.
The upcoming week of College Basketball will be exciting and holds big top-25 implications as the Big Ten/ACC challenge kicks off.
College Basketball is in full swing, and fans should be excited for a long season of high-quality matchups.
Thomas English is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.
