AwkGiraffe1257's Week 2 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | Opened with a solid win over Miami (FL) who I underrated going into my preseason rankings. Maintaining their #1 spot for now. |
| 2 | Duke | Convincing 2 wins to start the season against weaker competition, no change. |
| 3 | UConn | Strong victory against the reigning champs Michigan who, in spite of offseason changes, are still stout. UConn earned this move up to #3. |
| 4 | Illinois | Moved down solely because of UConn's Top 25 win. Illinois blew out the first two opponents, should have momentum going forward. |
| 5 | Michigan State | Great first week, should keep rolling. Moved up 1. |
| 6 | Virginia | Decisive win over Arkansas on Sunday really cemented their strength as a team, not to mention over 10+ 3s against Arkansas. Deserved move up the rankings! |
| 7 | Arizona | That UCLA game showed some weaknesses. Here's my argument - UCLA is underrated and Arizona may be "slightly" overrated to open this season. I like the Wildcats so hoping they bounce back. |
| 8 | Houston | Defense, defense, defense. Only moved down due to Virginia's strength of victory this week vs. Top 25. |
| 9 | Texas | Good start to the season, not much of note to mention going into Week 2. Solid squad putting up big numbers. |
| 10 | Gonzaga | Beating Purdue put Gonzaga on a good path to start off in spite of Purdue's season thus far. The Zags earned a spot in the Top 10 as a result. |
| 11 | Tennessee | Played only 1 game, tough to evaluate until there's a larger sample size. |
| 12 | Louisville | Defense on display already, great start to the season. |
| 13 | St. John's | Impressed me with their opening games, maintaining momentum. |
| 14 | UCLA | Winning against a top 5 Arizona team deserves kudos - UCLA makes my personal Top 15 debut as a result. Should be a fun team to watch all season. |
| 15 | Arkansas | Virginia is no slouch and that game was entertaining as heck! Arkansas should also bounce back like Iowa State & Arizona who lost this week. |
| 16 | Texas Tech | Good opening week, much more to be seen. On paper a top 25 offense & defense to start things off. |
| 17 | Kansas | Blowout vs. MTSU said a lot about what the ceiling for Kansas can be this year. Looking forward to conference play. |
| 18 | Miami (FL) | Weren't in my preseason rankings and they should have been. Contended with Florida most the game but there is a talent gap there. Positive outlook this year. |
| 19 | Iowa State | Memphis is a tough program and going to contend this year for a tournament bid. They still have stout defense and should bounce back. Definitely think I overrated them in my preseason rankings. |
| 20 | Alabama | Not much to go off of in the early slate of their season. The offense is firing on all cylinders so that's promising! |
| 21 | Vanderbilt | The metrics show this team having Top-20 abilities on both ends so far. |
| 22 | BYU | Another program with high offensive potential. That defense is suspect to start things off though. |
| 23 | Kentucky | Good start to the year, need more results to see if the defense is going to be porous or not. |
| 24 | Michigan | Felt like UConn dominated them all game. Not sure what to make of the Wolverines just yet but not poor enough to fall out of the rankings. |
| 25 | Memphis | Upset win vs. Iowa and a close but good win against an always tough VCU squad earns them a spot in this week's Top 25 |
Overall Rationale
In my receiving votes grouping are the following: Nebraska (crowded room here at 25), UNC (strong start just missing the cut), Saint Louis (that Missouri win was great!) & USC (potential is high but their overall stats don't impress me enough for Top 25. Had to factor in teams I did not include initially and value strength of victory thus far with limited stats and weaker opponents for Week 1.