Luke DeCock’s AP Top 25 basketball poll ballot: Week 9

Luke DeCock
·2 min read

Only limited changes at the top this week as Dayton and Nevada enter the poll while Creighton re-enters. Houston remains No. 1, although it’s certainly hard to argue with anyone who puts Purdue there. Those teams are separated by a razor-thin margin, and the Cougars will have a chance to prove it this week when they travel to Iowa State and TCU. Neither team is ranked on this ballot, but those are two devilishly tough road games. Houston’s not in the American anymore.

I, however, will not be around to make that adjudication. I have an irreconcilable conflict next week that will keep me from filing a ballot or, for that matter, watching college basketball over the weekend. Rather than find some substitute voter or just not file a ballot, that’s probably a sign from the basketball gods that it’s time to walk away from voting in this poll.

I still think the poll serves a purpose, helping drive the narrative of college basketball, but as I wrote last week, the task is entirely thankless. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze. Rodd Baxley of the Fayetteville Observer will be taking over from here on out, and for everyone who’s glad to see me go, I have some bad news for you: He really hates your team.

This season’s ballots

Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Luke DeCock’s Week 9 AP Top 25 basketball ballot

1. Houston (Last week: 1)

2. Purdue (2)

3. Kansas (3)

4. Connecticut (4)

5. Arizona (5)

6. Tennessee (7)

7. Wisconsin (11)

8. North Carolina (12)

9. Oklahoma (13)

10. San Diego State (14)

11. Marquette (6)

12. Kentucky (15)

13. Memphis (17)

14. Baylor (23)

15. Auburn (24)

16. Colorado State (10)

17. Duke (18)

18. Clemson (9)

19. Illinois (19)

20. BYU (8)

21. Dayton (NR)

22. Alabama (25)

23. Creighton (NR)

24. Utah (20)

25. Nevada (NR)

OUT Texas A&M (16), Florida Atlantic (21), James Madison (22)

Under consideration Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Indiana State, Princeton, South Carolina, Utah State

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