Inaugural ACR NCAA Rankings (Week 1)

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 2^nd 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.

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