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As a staff, we always have things to fight about in our weekly rankings. For example, how much should our rankings be predictive vs. results-based, when most teams have only played one or two games? We all bring different philosophies to the table in the hopes that each week it balances out into something that makes sense.
This week, we all agreed on one thing: We did not have Buffalo ranked highly enough in the preseason.
The Bulls’ win over West Virginia in Morgantown on Friday set us straight, and this week, Buffalo jumps from No. 7 to No. 3.
CJ Massinburg’s 43-point performance, including nine (9!) threes, helped Buffalo jump over three possible NCAA Tournament teams in South Dakota State, BYU, and Marshall. And while BYU lost a more-than-forgivable game at Nevada, the Jackrabbits beat Grand Canyon and Marshall topped Hofstra — a pair of solid Ws on their own.
Elsewhere, we welcome three new teams to the rankings, starting with UC Irvine, which received votes in the preseason then won at Texas A&M last week. The Anteaters are 2-0 but will face tests against UTSA and Saint Mary’s in the coming weeks.
Saint Joseph’s enters the fray as well, fresh off a statement win over Old Dominion. Charlie Brown led the way with 20 points and Pierfrancesco Oliva had 17 points and 14 rebounds off the bench to give the Hawks yet another a huge weapon.
Lipscomb sneaks in at No. 25 after being one of our first teams out in the preseason. The Bisons won twice last week, though neither game was against anyone good. Their spot is more a product of an injury-plagued Harvard team falling out of the rankings than anything else. We’ll learn more about Lipscomb on Thursday when they host a Belmont team that dropped 100 on Illinois State.
Here are the full rankings. In case you’re wondering, yes we do have an extreme bias against your favorite team and we LOVE your favorite team’s rivals:
The Other Top 25: Week 9
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
| 1 | Gonzaga (12) | 14-2 | 2 | 324 |
| 2 | Nevada | 14-1 | 1 | 309 |
| 3 | Buffalo (1) | 13-1 | 3 | 303 |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 10-4 | 5 | 266 |
| 5 | San Francsico | 14-2 | 6 | 249 |
| 6 | UNC Greensboro | 14-2 | 8 | 230 |
| 7 | Davidson | 10-4 | 10 | 221 |
| 8 | Belmont | 10-3 | 4 | 216 |
| 9 | Lipscomb | 10-4 | 11 | 191 |
| 10 | Wofford | 12-4 | 16 | 181 |
| 11 | Murray State | 11-2 | 18 | 169 |
| 12 | North Texas | 15-1 | 17 | 160 |
| 13 | Furman | 14-2 | 14 | 136 |
| 14 | South Dakota State | 12-6 | 11 | 133 |
| 15 | Charleston | 13-3 | 9 | 128 |
| 15 | Toledo | 12-2 | 7 | 128 |
| 17 | VCU | 10-4 | 21 | 113 |
| 18 | Utah State | 11-4 | 15 | 99 |
| 19 | Old Dominion | 11-4 | 13 | 96 |
| 20 | Liberty | 12-4 | NR | 71 |
| 21 | Hofstra | 13-3 | NR | 70 |
| 22 | Fresno State | 11-3 | NR | 60 |
| 23 | Ball State | 10-4 | NR | 54 |
| 24 | UC Irvine | 12-4 | 24 | 47 |
| 25 | Loyola Marymount | 13-3 | 19 | 42 |
Also receiving votes: New Mexico State (39), Louisiana Tech (37), Charleston (26), Rhode Island (21), Murray State (20), Yale (19), Southern Illinois (16), Penn (15), Ball State (10), Wright State (9), Louisiana (9), Bradley (8), Old Dominion (8), Harvard (8), San Diego (7), South Dakota (6), Northern Kentucky (6), San Francisco (4), Duquesne (4), Furman (3).