Gabe_i_guess's Week 5 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | |
| 2 | Arizona | |
| 3 | Michigan | They looked absurdly good this week. I think these top three have a clear tier to their own, and they can go in basically any order |
| 4 | Duke | Good win vs Arkansas, Boozer looks amazing. Duke seems to be as good, if not better than last year |
| 5 | Louisville | |
| 6 | Michigan State | They've looked really good in all of their games vs quality opponents. This is maybe the best team the Spartans have had in a while |
| 7 | UConn | Huge showing vs Illinois, this UConn team seems back in form after a down year last year |
| 8 | Houston | Lost to Tennessee and needed OT for Syracuse. I still think they're really good, but I want them to get back track on the court first |
| 9 | BYU | |
| 10 | Gonzaga | They've been one of the most impressive teams so far, until they ran into Michigan. I think they rebound, this team looks really good |
| 11 | Alabama | Super strong even despite their loss to the Zags, which was competitive. Yet another team who has impressed me so far |
| 12 | Iowa State | Great showing at the Players Era, I'm starting to think they may be a top 10 team |
| 13 | Tennessee | Huge win on Houston, but also took a loss to Kansas. They seem like a pretty good team, but that Kansas loss if far from great |
| 14 | Indiana | The Hoosiers have looked strong so far, admittedly against not amazing competition. I may be very wrong, but I'm betting on Indiana right now |
| 15 | USC | Seems like Musselman has it put together this year, and while they can be volatile, good Musselman teams are always scary |
| 16 | North Carolina | Took that loss to Michigan State, but they still seem very solid |
| 17 | Illinois | I'm a bit iffy on where exactly this Illinois team will end up, but I think they'll be fine, they've just played a tough schedule so far |
| 18 | Kentucky | |
| 19 | Vanderbilt | Insane offense that just went and won Atlantis. It may have been a weaker Atlantis field, but I think there were multiple tournament teams there and Vandy looked strong |
| 20 | Florida | The Gators still have seemed very iffy. I'm holding out hope the ship will get righted, but they still haven't shown it |
| 21 | Auburn | Got destroyed by Michigan, but beat solid Oregon and St. John's teams. They seem like a really solid team that has done pretty good with a hard schedule so far |
| 22 | Kansas | Very good showing at Players Era, even without Peterson. From what I've seen, the healthy Jayhawks will be pretty good |
| 23 | Iowa | Solid start with Ben McCollum, who is a proven winner. I'm buying into the Hawkeyes based on his history and their good start, even if they haven't played a very hard schedule |
| 24 | Nebraska | Played a decently difficult schedule and have gone undefeated so far. It feels early to say, but the Cornhuskers seem pretty good |
| 25 | Clemson | Good start with multiple games vs high majors. They lost to a solid Georgetown team, but have multiple solid wins as well. The Tigers sneak in at 25 |
Overall Rationale
Starting to rely more and more on team's records and resumes vs what we thought they would be in the preseason. Teams like UCLA, St. John's, and Arkansas are all unranked due to really not looking good vs any of their good opponents. They've all kind of underwhelmed and gave me no reason to be confident they'll be a top 25 team, though all three could very easily turn it around and end up being great.