Reviewing Sporting News Top 25

At the start of the college basketball year, I buy one or two "preview" magazines. This year, I bought one from the Sporting News. It's interesting to go back towards the end of the year and see how close or far off they were.

Today I'll take a look at surprises (good or bad) in the top 25. Tomorrow and the next day I'll take a look at surprises in predicted finishes in the "big 6" conferences and some of the other conferences.

Some surprises in the top 25 rankings:
Texas was pre-season #6... they are currently not ranked.
USC was pre-season #11... they didn't even get a single vote in either poll this week and are widely considered to be on the outside looking in for NCAA tournament consideration.
Notre Dame was pre-season #12... they also didn't get a single vote, but at least they have some hope of making the NCAA tournament.
Miami was pre-season #14... they didn't get a single vote but they do have a slight chance of making the tournament.
Florida was pre-season #16... they might not make the tournament.
Davidson was pre-season #20... they probably need to win their conference tournament to get in.
Oklahoma was pre-season #22... they are going to end up with a #1 seed in the tournament.
Kansas was not ranked pre-season and is currently #9 in both polls.
LSU (#11) and Missouri (#12) were not ranked pre-season.

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