College basketball ranking prediction: Michigan set to vault to top of AP Top 25

Another week in college basketball puts voters in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball rankings in yet another quandary about which team is deserving of the No. 1 spot. And after No. 1 Purdue’s 81-58 home loss this weekend to No. 10 Iowa State, the list of worthy contenders to supplant the Boilermakers is especially long. 

Will it be an 8-0 Arizona team that’s now armed with four ranked wins after a 97-68 dismantling of Auburn on Saturday? The Wildcats have been No. 2 in the poll for two consecutive weeks.

Will it be 8-0 Michigan, which has four consecutive wins of 30 or more — among them Auburn and Gonzaga?

Could Iowa State, leading the country in scoring margin and fresh off a road win over Purdue in Mackey Arena, make the leap up nine spots? You’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter team.

Speaking of hot: There’s also 10-0 Duke. Matt Norlander argued Duke has the best resume in college basketball after downing Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday. He might be right. 

Oh, the suspense! 

Here’s a snapshot at the resumes for some of the teams entering Monday. There’s a good chance all four could earn first-place votes. 

TEAM Record Ranked Wins Last Week’s Rank Scoring Margin RankMichigan8-0233Arizona8-04210Duke10-0444Iowa State9-02101

We’ll officially find out Monday at noon ET when the AP Top 25 poll is released. But unofficially, my projections on how I think voters will handle the rankings — not how I would rank the teams, to be clear, but how I think the rankings will settle after voters cast their ballots — are below. 

How Iowa State, sparked by an underrated freshman, pulled off an historic upset of No. 1 Purdue

Isaac Trotter

And my guess at No. 1? Voters — who gave Michigan the second-most first-place votes last week behind Purdue — will bump the Wolverines from No. 3 to No. 1. The voting will be close and Duke, Michigan and Arizona could all be nearly-identical in final points. But the Wolverines had the edge in first-place votes last week over Arizona, and I suspect another drubbing of its opponent this week could give it more separation.