LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Baylor basketball team faces what should be one of the sternest challenges so far to its unbeaten status Monday night.
The Bears, 12-0 and No. 2 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25, play host to No. 7 Kansas in an 8 o’clock (CT) Big 12 clash in Waco.
I expanded the BurlisonOnBasketball weekly ratings from 16 to 25 teams this week, mostly because there is such a traffic jam of teams in the 10 and beyond range.
The Big Ten and Big 12, with six and five teams, respectively, in the Top 25, continue to flex their figurative muscles as the best – top to bottom – conferences in the country.
Top 25 (records as of Jan. 17)
- Gonzaga 14-0
Key wins: Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa and BYU.
- Baylor 12-0
Key wins: Illinois, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.
- Villanova 8-1
Key wins: Arizona State, Texas and Marquette.
Loss: Virginia Tech.
- Iowa 12-2
Key wins: North Carolina, Purdue, Northwestern (2), Rutgers, Maryland and Minnesota.
Losses: Gonzaga and Minnesota.
- Texas 11-2
Key wins: Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Kansas and West Virginia.
Loss: Villanova and Texas Tech.
- Tennessee 10-1
Key wins: Colorado, Cincinnati, Missouri and Arkansas.
Loss: Alabama.
- Kansas 10-3
Key wins: Kentucky, Creighton, Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU.
Losses: Gonzaga, West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
- Houston 11-1
Key wins: Boise State, Texas Tech and Wichita State.
Loss: Tulsa.
- West Virginia 9-4
Key wins: VCU, Western Kentucky, Georgetown, Richmond and Oklahoma State.
Losses: Gonzaga, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Michigan 11-1
Key wins: Maryland, Northwestern, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Loss: Minnesota.
- Louisville 9-2
Key wins: Western Kentucky, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
Loss: Wisconsin and Miami.
- Creighton 10-3
Key wins: Connecticut, Xavier, Providence and Seton Hall.
Losses: Kansas, Marquette and Butler.
- Ohio State 11-3
Key wins: Notre Dame, UCLA, Rutgers (2), Northwestern and Michigan.
Losses: Purdue, Northwestern and Minnesota.
- Wisconsin 11-3
Key wins: Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana and Rutgers.
Losses: Marquette, Maryland and Michigan.
- Missouri 8-2
Key wins: Oregon, Wichita State, Liberty, Illinois, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Losses: Tennessee and Mississippi State.
- Alabama 11-3
Key wins: Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky and Arkansas.
Losses: Stanford, Clemson and Western Kentucky.
- Virginia Tech 11-2
Key wins: Villanova, Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Duke.
Losses: Penn State and Louisville.
- Virginia 9-2
Key wins: Notre Dame (2) and Clemson
Losses: San Francisco and Gonzaga.
- Oklahoma State 9-3
Key wins: Marquette, Wichita State, Texas Tech and Kansas.
Losses: TCU, Texas and West Virginia.
- Illinois 9-4
Key wins: Duke, Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern.
Losses: Baylor, Missouri, Rutgers and Maryland.
- Minnesota 11-4
Key wins: Saint Louis, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan.
Losses: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.
- UCLA 11-2
Key wins: Marquette, Colorado, Arizona State and Arizona.
Losses: San Diego State and Ohio State.
- Saint Louis 7-1
Key wins: LSU and North Carolina State.
Loss: Minnesota.
- Colorado 11-3
Key wins: Grand Canyon, USC, Oregon, Utah and Stanford.
Losses: Tennessee, Arizona and UCLA.
- Oregon 9-2
Key wins: Seton Hall, Stanford and Utah.
Loses: Missouri and Colorado.
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