Obviously, this was the most difficult week of the season to put together a top 25 ballot. Tons of top 25 teams lost games; some of them even lost two. Teams that lost games, in some cases, even had to be moved up. So here we go:

Say hello to: Stanford (14), Villanova (23), South Alabama (25)
Say goodbye to: Miami (21), Florida (23), Rhode Island (24)

Moving up: Tennessee (7 to 3), Michigan State (16 to 11), Pittsburgh (20 to 12), Drake (25 to 15)
Moving down: North Carolina (2 to 5), Marquette (11 to 22), Butler (12 to 21), Texas A&M (6 to 24)

Just missed: Florida, Baylor, USC, Kansas State, UMass, Gonzaga, West Virginia

- I still believe North Carolina and UCLA are top-4 teams, but losing at home should be penalized in the poll more than losing on the road.

- Stanford had a very good week, sweeping the Arizona schools. Though both games were at home, it’s fair to move Stanford from out of the poll to 14.

- Time to start taking Drake seriously. There are no great wins on the resume, but 14-1 is 14-1. We’ll know a lot more about this team Tuesday when it plays at Creighton.

- Butler is two games out of first place now in the Horizon League yet still in the top 25. Weird.

- Baylor’s SID office sent an e-mail campaigning for votes. Sorry, but no. Haven’t done enough yet.

Anyway here’s the ballot:
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ONE, #1, Número uno, Numéro un, Nummer ein, Numere Aquele, Исчисля один, no matter the language it sounds good doesn’t it? I keep trying to remain calm about this but I’ve waited 25 years for another #1 ranking. Sure it wasn’t as long as we waited for a bowl game but a quarter of a century is a long time.

A part of me thinks that the writers and coaches will stupidly vote Kansas #1. That same part thinks that would be a good thing. The motivation of being shunned by the voters would inspire this team like you wouldn’t believe. It would put a “we have to show them” attitude in every game from here on out. It would make me feel sorry for our opponents.
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