College Basketball Rankings: Predicting the AP Poll Top 25 after Week 16 matchups

The AP Poll Top 25 will get a complete overhaul after seeing top-ranked matchups throughout the weekend, and a change in the perception of multiple teams after the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed its Top 16. As the chaos continues, only one team will know for sure where it stands.

Michigan and Duke went head-to-head for the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Houston took two losses after a jump in the rankings and plenty others inside the Top 10 took losses of their own.

After the 16th week of the college basketball season wraps up, it is time to look at how the results could impact the upcoming rankings. Here is an early projection of what Monday’s AP Poll could look like after the latest set of games.

Predicted AP Poll Top 25

1. Duke (Last Week: 3)

Duke looks to vault up the AP Poll Top 25 this week after knocking off Michigan, also securing a win against Syracuse early in the week. The Blue Devils are now schedule to return to ACC play against Notre Dame and Virginia.

2. Michigan (Last Week: 1)

Michigan picked up a win over Purdue during the midweek slate, but fell against Duke on a neutral floor. As the Wolverines likely take a tumble in the rankings, they can regroup quickly against Minnesota and Illinois in Big Ten play.

3. Arizona (Last Week: 4)

Arizona bounced back well from its first losses of the season, knocking off BYU and Houston to assert themselves atop the Big 12 standings. They look to continue their climb back toward the top against Baylor and Kansas.

4. UConn (Last Week 5)

UConn took an upset loss against Creighton to start the week, but rebounded on the weekend to beat Villanova. The Huskies must now look to reassert themselves atop the Big East against St. John’s before facing Seton Hall.

5. Iowa State (Last Week: 6)

Iowa State started the week with a win over Houston, giving them a head-to-head advantage over the Cougars, before a loss against BYU disrupted the weekend. The Cyclones will now prepare for Utah and Texas Tech.

6. Houston (Last Week: 2)

Houston takes back-to-back losses, setting up a drop in the AP Poll following the results against Iowa State and Arizona. The Cougars will now look to bounce back as the schedule stays tough, facing Kansas before a game against Colorado.

7. Purdue (Last Week: 7)

Purdue started the week off with a loss against Michigan, but was able to respond with a rivalry win against Indiana. The schedule does not slow down, with Michigan State and Ohio State over the next week.

8. Florida (Last Week: 12)

Florida is set for a leap in the AP Poll after getting backed by the Selection Committee, along with wins against South Carolina and Ole Miss. The Gators continue their SEC schedule with Texas and Arkansas over the next week.

9. Gonzaga (Last Week: 11)

Gonzaga took care of business on the week, setting them up to rise after wins against San Francisco and Pacific. They will conclude the regular season over the next week with matchups against Portland and St. Mary’s.

10. Kansas (Last Week: 8)

Kansas started the week with a win over Oklahoma State, but went down against Cincinnati over the weekend to set up a slide. With losses all around them, the Jayhawks can rebound quickly against Houston and Arizona.

Predicting 11-25

11. Nebraska (Last Week: 9)

12. Virginia (Last Week: 14)

13. Illinois (Last Week: 10)

14. Michigan State (Last Week: 15)

15. St. John’s (Last Week: 17)

16. Texas Tech (Last Week: 13)

17. North Carolina (Last Week: 16)

18. Alabama (Last Week: 25)

19. Miami (OH) (Last Week: 22)

20. Arkansas (Last Week: 20)

21. Tennessee (Last Week: 21)

22. St. Louis (Last Week: 18)

23. Louisville (Last Week: 21)

24. Vanderbilt (Last Week: 19)

25. BYU (Last Week: 23)

Projected to drop out: N/A