Update: There it is— the ’Noles are a top-10 team, rising to the No. 10 spot in both the AP and Coaches Polls from No. 18 and 20, respectively.
The No. 18 Florida State men’s basketball team won its sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon, handling the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals on the road. The win improves the ’Noles to 13-2 and 3-1 in ACC play, and now we’ll see how yet another impressive victory affects FSU’s rankings in the national polls.
After registering double-digit wins over both Georgia Tech and UL, Florida State could be rewarded nicely, especially since seven ranked teams ahead of the Seminoles lost this week. No. 4 Oregon lost at Colorado, but the top-five team that really deserves a ding is No. 5 Ohio State, which dropped its second consecutive home game by losing to Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have now been bettered in three of their last five games.
Rounding out the top 10, both No. 9 Memphis and No. 10 Villanova also lost to unranked teams, Memphis at home to Georgia and ’Nova at Marquette. No. 12 Michigan deserves a demotion as well after getting pounded by No. 14 Michigan State. Like their besties in Columbus, the Wolverines have also lost three of five, as well as four of their last seven. And while there’s no shame in No. 16 West Virginia falling at No. 3 Kansas, the Mountaineers did falter in their top-10 road test, while the ’Noles excelled.
Checking in with KenPom rankings really helps demonstrate how big the win over Louisville is for FSU. Even after the home defeat, the Cards are still ranked sixth. Meanwhile, the Seminoles rose from No. 19 to No. 13. The offense improved significantly, up from No. 39 to No. 27. But the defense dropped again, from 17th to 19th. In the NCAA’s NET rankings, Florida State is up from No. 26 to No. 21— one spot behind Louisville.
Be sure to check back here, as we’ll plug-in the Seminoles’ new rankings when they’re published later today.