Top 25

Here's my men's basketball top 25:
1. Illinois (I'm now one of the 50)
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma State
4. Duke
5. Pitt
6. North Carolina
7. Syracuse
8. Wake Forest
9. Kentucky
10. Gonzaga
11. Georgia Tech
12. Alabama
13. Connecticut
14. George Washington
15. Iowa
16. Mississippi State
17. North Carolina State
18. Washington
19. Arizona
20. Michigan State
21. Texas
22. Louisville
23. Cincinnati
24. Boston College
25. Virginia
Notes:

I struggled a bit on where to put Gonzaga. I had the Zags ranked No. 17 last week, but they beat Georgia Tech, my No. 1. Their only loss was Illinois, who is now my No. 1, so where do they go? I opted for No. 10, one spot ahead of Georgia Tech (who I think might beat the Zags, six times out of 10).
In the actual poll, Gonzaga is No. 13 and Tech is No 9, which is of course illogical...


BC remains difficult because it is undefeated with some escape wins over bad teams. I dropped them one spot after a double overtime win over Yale, the third best team in Connecticut. The Eagles will probably still be undefeated until I see them live on Jan. 2.

I'm getting a little enamored with Witchita State. The Shockers are undefeated with a win over Providence and were the preseason favorite to win the always underrated Missouri Valley Conference. I need to research them futher, but they could find their way into this space.