Welcome to Week 1 of the Association of Collegiate Researchers NCAA Men’s Basketball Poll. The rankings are released below, but let me take a moment to comment on this week in college basketball. The preseason tournaments were in full force, as we saw West Virginia capture the 76 Classic title, Gonzaga won the Maui Invitational, and Duke winning the Preseason NIT. We also saw several highly ranked teams fall, including Michigan State (who lost to Florida by 3), Butler (who lost once to Minnesota and again to Clemson), and Illinois (who lost to both Utah and Bradley).
Moving to the poll, there are several interesting elements of the ACR rankings. There is an obvious value placed on unbeaten teams, as seen by the inclusion of Oklahoma State, Miami (FL) and UNLV, in addition to the high number of votes for BYU and Cal State Fullerton. Also, losses are valued differently. Michigan State, who lost to Florida 77-74 on Friday night, tumbled to 14 from its 2nd place ranking in last week’s AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Louisville, however, who lost to at UNLV 76-71, only fell one spot from its respective AP and Coaches poll rankings. Without further ado, the week 1 rankings are posted below.
Team Points
1. Kansas (4) 100
2. Texas 94
3. Villanova 91
4. Duke 87
5. Purdue 81
6. Kentucky 78
7(t). West Virginia 73
7(t). Syracuse 73
9. Georgetown 50
10(t). Washington 49
10(t). Tennessee 49
12. North Carolina 45
13. Connecticut 40
14. Michigan State 38
15. Butler 35
16. Florida 31
17. Louisville 27
18. Ohio State 23
19. Michigan 21
20(t). Gonzaga 18
20(t). Clemson 18
22(t). Oklahoma State 14
22(t). Miami(FL) 14
24. UNLV 13
25. Minnesota 12
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 12, BYU 11, Cal State Fullerton 10, Maryland 10, New Mexico 9, Marquette 8, St. John’s 8, Florida State 8, Seton Hall 7, Illinois 6, Texas Tech 6, NC State 5, Notre Dame 4, Washington State 4, Memphis 4, Wisconsin 3, Missouri State 3, Georgia Tech 2, Rhode Island 2, Dayton 2, UTEP 1, William and Mary 1.
