Top 25 Shakeup: Upsets Reign Supreme in Week 15
Most of Week 15 did not go as anticipated, leading to a week of shakeups for the top 25 in men’s college basketball.
Three teams rose or fell five spots or greater, thanks to major upsets this week, and few outside of the top five remained unchanged.
No. 12 Texas Christian University
Sitting at the top of their conference and moving closer to the top of the poll, the Horned Frogs (23-4, 11-3) made a significant rise this week.
Up five spots after dropping a close game to Colorado on Feb. 8, TCU was the picture of a successful week. Despite a daunting slate that included two top-25 opponents, the Horned Frogs were unfazed.
“I just thought that the Big 12 leader deserves to be up in the top 10. I had them at 10 this week,” said Jeff Linder, an AP Poll voter and sportswriter at The Gazette.
They made quick work of then-No. 12 Baylor 83-67 on the road Thursday, already making a case for moving up in the poll. Then, they doubled down. They returned home Sunday to face then-No. 19 West Virginia and eked out a 59-50 win.
Escaping a ranked matchup again this week, they will look to continue to rise.
No. 14 Maryland
Despite the impressive jump by TCU, the biggest climb this week was by the Terrapins. Maryland (21-6, 9-6) jumped six spots up to No. 14 following a productive Week 15.
Sunday marked one of its most successful games of the season, topping then-No. 8 Ohio State 76-75 on the road.
“A ton of great things for us to be able to take from this top-10 road win as we finish the regular season and get ready for March,” coach Brenda Frese said, per umterps.com.
Before that, the Terrapins bested Penn State 81-62 at home, making even more of a case for their jump this week.
“Coming from way back to knock off Ohio State on the road, that looks like they might be starting to stack some wins together and might be a factor for a top four or five finish in the Big Ten coming down the stretch,” Linder said.
Maryland is on a four-game winning streak and will look to continue its run against Purdue on Sunday following a week-long break.
No. 18 Michigan State
The week was not as successful for others. Michigan State (20-6, 9-6) has now lost four of its last five games after dropping both contests this week. While much of it has been schedule-induced, with all four losses being to ranked opponents, the Spartans have been unable to match up as of late.
The first dropped game this week went to then-No. 2 UCLA on Wednesday. Michigan State lost 86-63 at home. Despite UCLA’s dominance this season, the homecourt loss and the margin of victory played a role in the drastic drop.
The Spartans followed that with another tough showing against then-No. 7 Michigan, falling 86-65 on the road. Their schedule has been far from easy, but the back-to-back, 20-plus point losses have impacted their position both in the conference and the poll.
“It was just kind of their turn to drop a little bit,” Linder said. “Two really really good teams in UCLA and Michigan but weren’t terribly competitive in either one of them.”
Category: College Basketball
