I heard all the hype about Wesley Johnson from Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse staff, but I needed to see it with my own eyes before I put them in my top 25 poll.
| Top 25 after Week 2 | |
| Team (record) | Previous ranking |
| 1. Kansas (3-0) | 1 |
| 2. Kentucky (4-0) | 2 |
| 3. Texas (2-0) | 3 |
| 4. Michigan State (4-0) | 4 |
| 5. Villanova (5-0) | 7 |
| 6. Purdue (3-0) | 5 |
| 7. West Virginia (1-0) | 6 |
| 8. Washington (4-0) | 8 |
| 9. Tennessee (3-0) | 9 |
| 10. Syracuse (4-0) | NR |
| 11. Connecticut (3-0) | 12 |
| 12. North Carolina (4-1) | 11 |
| 13. Butler (1-0) | 14 |
| 14. Duke (4-0) | 14 |
| 15. Michigan (2-0) | 16 |
| 16. Ohio State (3-1) | 16 |
| 17. Illinois (3-0) | 18 |
| 18. Georgetown (3-0) | 19 |
| 19. Vanderbilt (2-0) | 22 |
| 20. Minnesota (3-0) | 24 |
| 21. Xavier (3-0) | 25 |
| 22. Louisville (3-0) | NR |
| 23. Clemson (3-0) | NR |
| 24. UNLV (3-0) | NR |
| 25. Gonzaga (2-1) | NR |
Needless to say, the Orange earned inclusion and jump right in among the nation's top 10 teams after the win against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden.
I had already moved North Carolina down to No. 11 a week ago prior to the Tar Heels' loss after identifying the fact that they were overrated in the top five, so there wasn't much need to drop them much further down after the setback to the 'Cuse.
A handful of teams dropped out — a Cal team that played without Theo Robertson in New York City, a Georgia Tech squad that needs better guard play, an Oklahoma club that couldn't win one for Jeff Capel in his old stomping grounds at VCU, a Siena team that lost at Temple and an Ole Miss group that couldn't get past Villanova.
That creates five spots with plenty of candidates. Syracuse was a no-brainer. Louisville has as much right as just about anyone after their second-half demolition of a thin Arkansas team, Clemson has jumped out to a 3-0 start and UNLV has also won three straight, including victories against Nevada and Southern Illinois. I also put Gonzaga in the final spot after giving Michigan State all it could handle in East Lansing.
