The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Borges Top 25: Kansas returns to the top spot
So Gonzaga beats Duke — which was a combination of 1976 Indiana, 1982 North Carolina and any number of past UCLA teams (or so we were told) — to win the Maui Invitational. Gotta vault the Zags to No. 1, right?
We thought about it. But we also really like Kansas. In fact, had the Jayhawks as preseason No. 1 and dropped them to No. 2 through no fault of their own, only because of how good Duke looked beating Kentucky back on Nov. 6. Of course, Kansas beat Michigan State that same night. And, it just so happened to beat No. 5 Tennessee in the title game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center this week.
So, we’re going with the Jayhawks at No. 1. At least until Bill Self incriminates himself in the sport’s recruiting scandal.
Elsewhere, we add Arizona State, Texas and Creighton and boot Wisconsin, Clemson and LSU.
UConn? Not yet. Can the Huskies crack our ballot if they beat Arizona on Sunday? Probably not. This isn’t a vintage Arizona team, and there are too many other teams knocking on the door to be ranked. But if a bunch of teams on the bottom half of our ballot lose this week ... hey, you never know.
Better chance if UConn takes care of business this week, then pops off Florida State on Dec. 8. Would be hard to justify not ranking the Huskies if all that transpires.
1. Kansas: Early-season wins over Michigan State, Tennessee enough to vault Jayhawks back to the top.
2. Gonzaga: So apparently the Zags can beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, too?
3. Virginia: That wasn’t trytophane setting in Friday, you were just watching Virginia-Wisconsin.
4. Duke: So much for that undefeated season.
5. Nevada: Wolf Pack are averaging 92 points per game.
6. Kansas State: Wildcats next two games are on the road, at Marquette and Tulsa.
7. North Carolina: Three of next four games are against Michigan, Gonzaga and Kentucky.
8. Michigan: Timeout!!! Big showdown with North Carolina in ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Wednesday.
9. Tennessee: No shame losing to Kansas in OT in NIT Tip-Off title game.
10. Auburn: Tigers weren’t too far off from beating Duke in Maui this week, either.
11. Kentucky: Wildcats lost to Memphis this week ... in recruitment of James Wiseman, top big man in country.
12. Michigan State: Sparty tops upstart Texas in Las Vegas Invitational title game.
13. Virginia Tech: Wait ‘til the Hokies get a taste of Donyell Marshall and CCSU on Saturday!
14. Florida State: Leonard Hamilton is 70 years old? Doesn’t look it.
15. Purdue: Boilermakers face Michigan on Saturday as Big 10 season kicks off already.
16. Iowa: Just let me know when the Tyler Cook Hall of Fame induction ceremony begins.
17. Oregon: Can Ducks play UCF, so we get a Tacko Bol? (Sorry).
18. Buffalo: Head coach Nate Oats will be a hot commodity after this season.
19. Ohio State: Buckeye fans wish Jim Harbaugh coached basketball, too.
20. Arizona State: Bobby Hurley beats his brother onto this Top 25 ballot.
21. Texas: Wow, Kerwin Roach can play a little bit.
22. St. John’s: Only unbeaten team left in Big East.
23. Indiana: Juwan (a man) Morgan pours in 31 vs. UC-Davis.
24. Creighton: Bluejays beat Clemson to win Cayman Islands Classic.
25. Furman: Brad Faxon isn’t the Paladins only claim to sports fame.