The Men’s Other Top 25: South Florida makes huge jump as top 10 remains virtually unchanged

Saint Louis, Miami (OH), Utah St. and Saint Mary’s remained 1-4 in this week’s Men’s Other Top 25. San Diego St. and VCU each moved up one spot as Santa Clara slid four places following its loss to Gonzaga.

New Mexico rejoined the top 10 and came in at No. 7. Belmont moved up one place to eighth. Liberty remained at No. 10.

Then came South Florida. The Bulls skyrocketed from No. 23 to No. 11. They have won four games in a row to surge into sole possession of first place in the American. USF is 10-3 in the conference and holds a two-game lead over Tulsa and Wichita St. It defeated both the Golden Hurricane and the Shockers within the last nine days. Bryan Hodgson’s team prevailed 83-81 in overtime at Florida Atlantic Sunday in its most recent game.

The Bulls are 18-8 overall this season. They are 57th in the NET, 60th in KenPom and 68th in BartTorvik. They are 18th in adjusted tempo, per KenPom.

A trio of teams joined the ranking this week: UNC Wilmington (T-18), Winthrop (T-22) and UC Irvine (24).

UNCW had a gigantic week with three wins. The Seahawks won 76-64 at Charleston in a battle of the top two teams in the CAA. They then defeated Elon and closed the week by picking up a 70-66 win over Hofstra in another matchup of top-four teams in the conference. Takayo Siddle’s group is 11-2 in the league and 22-4 overall.

Winthrop is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Eagles have won 11 straight to improve to 19-8 and 11-1 in the Big South. They play at High Point Saturday in a showdown of the top two teams in the conference.

UC Irvine gives the Big West two teams in the ranking by joining Hawaii, who came in tied for 17th this week. The Anteaters and Rainbow Warriors are tied atop the league standings at 10-4.

Here is the full ranking:

Northern Colorado 11; Austin Peay 11; North Dakota St. 9; Bradley 9; Montana St. 9; Harvard 8; UC Santa Barbara 6; Boise St. 5; Cal Baptist 4; Charleston 3; Merrimack 3; Sam Houston St. 3; Navy 2; Dayton 2; NJIT 2

Cal Baptist – T-21; Utah Valley – 24; Boise St. – 25