I knew two things were guaranteed to happen when I updated the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings Sunday morning -- specifically that Duke fans would be mad because I had Gonzaga No. 1 and Duke No. 2, and that Kentucky fans would be mad because, well, because they just stay mad.
(I'm kidding!)
(Kinda!)
And guess what?
I'm actually OK with folks who think Duke should be No. 1 because, like I explained Sunday morning, there's a sensible case to be made for the Blue Devils. My issue is with the people who insist there's just no way Gonzaga could be No. 1 because, like I explained Sunday morning, there's also a sensible case to be made for the Zags considering they are A) 25-2 with a neutral-court win over Duke and zero losses to teams ranked outside of the top 10, B) 12-2 vs. top 100 KenPom teams, C) in possession of a national-best 16-game winning streak featuring 16 double-digit wins coming by an average of 31.3 points per contest, and D) the owner of the nation's best offensive-efficiency rating.
There's nothing crazy about having that team No. 1.
As for Kentucky, I'm totally cool with folks who think UK should be in the top five because it's fairly easy to make that argument too. My issue is with people who insist it's crazy to have Kentucky outside of the top five because, for a variety of reasons, there's nothing crazy about having Kentucky behind Gonzaga, Duke, Virginia, Tennessee and Michigan, which is the case in the Top 25 And 1. And my even bigger issue is with the weirdos who tweeted me all day Sunday asking why I "dropped Kentucky" after the Wildcats beat Tennessee and why "Michigan jumped Kentucky" after the Wildcats beat Tennessee.
That. Is. Not. What. Happened.
I swear, even if I live to be a million, I'll still never understand why these daily rankings are so hard for so many to follow. But they obviously are. So let me make this as simple as possible. Please try to follow along.
Michigan was No. 5 and Kentucky was No. 6 in Saturday morning's Top 25 And 1. Here's proof. Then Michigan beat Maryland by double-digits on Saturday afternoon while Kentucky beat Tennessee by double-digits on Saturday night. And on Sunday morning I still had Michigan No. 5 and Kentucky No. 6. Here's proof. In other words, Michigan didn't jump Kentucky; Michigan was already ahead of Kentucky. And Kentucky didn't drop to No. 6; Kentucky was already No. 6.
(That wasn't hard to follow, was it?)
If you're a smart Kentucky fan, please pass this along to some of the not-so-smart Kentucky fans. I thank you in advance on behalf of my Twitter mentions.
Monday's Top 25 And 1
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Zags are 12-2 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with a neutral-court win over Duke and zero losses to schools ranked outside of the top seven of the Top 25 And 1. Gonzaga has won 16 straight games by an average of 31.3 points per contest. | -- | 5-0 |
| 2 |  | The Blue Devils are 14-2 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with losses to Gonzaga and Syracuse. Duke will take a nine-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with North Carolina. | -- | 4-2 |
| 3 |  | The Cavaliers improved to 13-2 vs. top-100 KenPom teams after Saturday's win over Notre Dame. Both of Virginia's losses are losses to Duke. | -- | 4-2 |
| 4 |  | The Vols' 23-2 record features a 12-2 mark against top-100 KenPom teams with zero losses to schools ranked outside of the top 13 of the Top 25 And 1. Tennessee is 19-1 in its past 20 games. | -- | 6-0 |
| 5 |  | Michigan is 16-3 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with just one sub-30 loss. The Wolverines own double-digit wins over North Carolina, Purdue, Maryland and Villanova. | -- | 5-1 |
| 6 |  | The Wildcats are 11-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with losses to two sub-50 KenPom teams. UK is 11-1 in its past 12 games heading into Tuesday's game at Missouri. | -- | 6-0 |
| 7 |  | The Tar Heels are 11-2 in their past 13 games with wins over Virginia Tech and Louisville. UNC is 12-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero sub-25 losses. | -- | 4-2 |
| 8 |  | Nevada's resume features eight wins over top-100 KenPom teams with the lone loss coming at New Mexico. The Wolf Pack will take a 10-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at San Diego State. | -- | 6-1 |
| 9 |  | The Spartans are 15-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with just one sub-50 loss. Michigan State will take a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with Rutgers. | -- | 5-2 |
| 10 |  | The Cougars have won 10 straight games since losing at Temple. Houston is 9-1 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero sub-75 losses. | -- | 3-2 |
| 11 |  | The Golden Eagles' are 10-1 in their past 11 games with the lone loss coming to St. John's. Marquette is 10-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero sub-55 losses. | -- | 6-0 |
| 12 |  | The Cardinals are 10-8 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero losses to sub-85 teams. Louisville owns wins over North Carolina, Michigan State and Virginia Tech. | -- | 4-1 |
| 13 |  | The Jayhawks are 14-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one additional sub-100 loss that came at West Virginia. Kansas is 8-5 since losing Udoka Azubuike to a season-ending hand injury. | -- | 6-0 |
| 14 |  | The Red Raiders are 6-1 in their past seven games with the lone loss in that stretch coming at Kansas. Texas Tech is 10-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero sub-40 losses. | -- | 5-1 |
| 15 |  | Iowa improved to 13-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams via Saturday's win at Rutgers. Four of the Hawkeyes' five losses are to schools also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 6-1 |
| 16 |  | The Tigers are 13-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with two sub-50 losses after Saturday's game at Georgia. LSU is 14-1 in its last 15 heading into Wednesday's game with Florida. | -- | 5-1 |
| 17 |  | The Boilermakers are 12-2 in their past 14 games with wins over Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin. Five of Purdue's seven losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 5-1 |
| 18 |  | The Terrapins are 11-7 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Tuesday's game at Iowa. Five of Maryland's seven losses are to schools also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 5-1 |
| 19 |  | The Badgers are 11-7 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one additional sub-100 loss that came at Western Kentucky. Wisconsin will try to snap a two-game losing streak Monday against Illinois. | -- | 7-0 |
| 20 |  | Virginia Tech is 7-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with only one loss coming to a school ranked outside of the top-35. The Hokies will take a two-game winning streak into Monday's game with Virginia. | 1 | 3-3 |
| 21 |  | The Seminoles are 9-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one additional sub-100 loss at Boston College. Florida State will take a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday's game at Clemson. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 22 |  | Villanova has 12 wins over top-100 KenPom teams - but only two of those victories are over top-50 opponents. The Wildcats are 1-2 in their past three games with losses to Marquette and St. John's. | 2 | 3-4 |
| 23 |  | The Cyclones are 7-2 in their past nine games with losses to Kansas and TCU. Iowa State is 8-6 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Tuesday's game with Baylor. | -- | 4-1 |
| 24 |  | The Wildcats are 9-2 in their past 11 games with wins over Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State. KSU has only lost four times in games in which Dean Wade has played. | -- | 5-2 |
| 25 |  | The Bulls completed a regular-sweep of Toledo on Friday while extending their winning streak to three games. Buffalo is 4-2 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one additional sub-100 loss that came at Northern Illinois. | -- | 4-3 |
| 26 |  | The Bearcats' eight-game winning streak was snapped Sunday at Houston. Cincinnati is 7-3 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one additional sub-200 loss that came at East Carolina. | -- | 5-0 |
