It’s that time of the week! The new Top 25 poll is set to drop sometime this evening, and though several teams were not in action at all over the last seven days, I do expect some slight changes as voters shuffle their ballot around. Though I don’t anticipate many new teams, if any, we should see the order of teams changed from last week’s poll after a handful of notable results, particularly Trine’s win at Hope and Chicago’s win at Whitewater. As I do every week, for the sake of transparency, and for fun, I have broken down my ballot. So here we go…

1. NYU: Hope’s home loss to Trine on Saturday wasn’t terrible at all, but it was enough for me to move undefeated NYU into the #1 spot. NYU has played a relatively weak schedule thus far, though the Violets looked really good in their win over Tufts on the road, which gives me confidence in them moving into UAA play. 
2. Hope: While the loss to Trine is disappointing, let us not forget that Hope still has wins over UW-Eau Claire and Calvin. Wins over IWU and Wisconsin Lutheran were notable early on, but with neither of those teams looking very sharp at this point, the strength of those wins diminishes a bit. 
3. Transylvania: Transylvania stays #3 in my ballot and took care of business on the road at John Carroll on Saturday. We still haven’t seen the Pioneers truly tested in my opinion, and probably won’t until we reach NCAA Tournament time. 
4. Trinity (TX): The Tigers have a showdown with #15 Mary Hardin-Baylor tonight in San Antonio in a game that will have concluded before this poll is released. But the game will be played after our voting deadline, so that result will factor into next week’s poll. Regardless, Trinity has looked strong throughout this entire year, and has two notable wins over Hardin-Simmons, one of which came on the road. I don’t see anyone, except maybe Schreiner, challenging Trinity all that much in SCAC play. 
5. Christopher Newport: CNU dominated against Colorado College in Puerto Rico on Sunday, forcing 30 turnovers. CNU looks sharp once again this year, and with UCSC playing great basketball, and Mary Washington also in the mix, the C2C Tournament should be fairly exciting later this year. CNU hasn’t wavered yet, though we will see how the Captains fare against Cortland today on a neutral court. 
6. Baldwin-Wallace: The 2OT win over Trine is looking especially good now that Trine beat Hope, and that win, along with victories over Wilmington and at Marietta, boost BW’s resume. The Yellow Jackets stay at No. 6 for me. 
7. Scranton: Scranton’s win over Ithaca seems to be the one that really jumps out, though we’ll see them play Wartburg later today. Again, a lot of key games will be played late today, so we may see some movement come next week as a result of the results from today and tomorrow. Overall, Scranton has looked sharp to me, despite playing a relatively weak non-conference schedule. 
8. Amherst: The Top 10 didn’t change much for me, as there were few results to go on. Amherst is looking true to its typical form, playing suffocating defense and relying on that to win games. So far, it’s led to a 7-0 record, though the SOS is lacking. Amherst holds just one notable win over Springfield, and that came by four points back on Nov, 15. 
9. Babson: Babson gets a really nice test against an underrated Loras team tomorrow in Florida, but didn’t play at all this past week. Still, Babson stays at #9 for me this week, still undefeated, with a 7-0 record. 
10. UW-Eau Claire: I brought UWEC back to No. 10 as I evaluated them further. The SOS number of the Blugolds of UWEC is a lot better (#8 in Massey SOS) compared to a lot of other Top 15 teams. Now, two losses are on their resume, but those were against Hope and Loras, both on the road. Not to mention wins over Wartburg, River Falls and La Crosse, all Top 40 Massey teams (Wartburg and La Crosse are both Top 20). I’ve seen enough to convince me that UWEC is still the WIAC’s best team right now. 
11. Trine: Taking down #1 on its home court is huge. And that win for the Thunder will be well-rewarded in this poll. I moved them from #18 to #11, and if they continue playing to the level that they did Saturday, they’ll crack the Top 10 soon enough for me. Why aren’t they Top 10 right now? As I mentioned above, I look at this ballot more from a “total body of work” standpoint than a week-to-week standpoint, if that makes sense. Trine’s win over Hope is super impressive, considering I’ve had Hope at #1 this entire year. But, you can’t forget about the losses to Baldwin-Wallace and Ohio Northern, neither of which are bad losses at all, but in my opinion, are worse losses than UWEC’s. Again, this is one voter’s approach, so I have no problem if you don’t agree with my opinion on this. You could make a case for either UWEC or Trine at #10. 
12. Springfield: At 9-1, Springfield’s only loss remains to Amherst. The Pride took down a solid Albertus Magnus team by 14 this past week, and I like the direction they are headed. Key matchup to look ahead to will be the Dec. 30 duel with Trinity (CT). Very excited for that one. 
13. DeSales: Still undefeated, but with only one win on a Massey Top 50 team, DeSales is a program I’m paying close attention to. They looked sharp against Messiah back on Nov. 28, but I don’t know when we’ll see them really tested again. I’m a big believer in rewarding strong SOS as compared to just the W/L record, so putting DeSales 13 makes me somewhat uneasy. Time will tell. 
14. Smith: Smith has the loss to Framingham State, but wins over Trinity (CT) and Bowdoin that look really good on their resume. I slid them up on spot from last week in my ballot, though I figure they’ll likely be ranked a couple spots higher. 
15. UW-Whitewater: I went back and forth on putting Whitewater ahead of Chicago or not because Whitewater and Chicago have such similar resumes, though Chicago beat UWW on Wednesday behind a fourth quarter comeback. I tend to avoid placing too much emphasis on the head-to-head wins, because I feel you get a better perspective of a team by looking at their complete resume, rather than just one or two games when they really found a rhythm. Still, it helps a lot in these kinds of situations. Chicago’s best wins have come over Carroll (#42), Wheaton (#50), Whitewater (#11), and Wisconsin Lutheran (#86). Whitewater’s best wins are over Millikin (#21), IL Wesleyan (#30), UW-La Crosse (#16), and Augustana (#51). I don’t think the margin between the two is that large, but for now, Whitewater’s best wins more than make up for the two losses in my opinion. 
16. Chicago: Reference my thoughts above…
17. Mary Hardin-Baylor: As some of you know, I run the website True To The Cru, covering UMHB athletics, so I’m essentially a beat writer for Crusader sports, and have had several opportunities to see this team in action. I really think they are a Top 15 team, but felt Chicago deserved to move up which bumped UMHB down. However, a good showing in San Antonio tonight and tomorrow, and UMHB might just leap four or five spots up in my ballot since Trinity and Puget Sound are both Top 20 teams. For now, though, SOS-wise, and all things considering with the other teams in my ballot, UMHB is #17. 
18. Rochester: With Chicago moving up, Rochester, like UMHB, slides back a little bit. I am excited for UAA play to begin, because I think we will have more clarity on both Rochester and Emory by that point. Rochester has some solid wins, having beat Messiah, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca, which gives me a lot of confidence as to how they will perform in a very deep UAA this season. They’re a clear Top 20 team for me.
19. Puget Sound: The only blemish to Puget Sound’s record is a home loss to Wheaton, who is proving to be a very good team, and the more I watch them play, the more I am convinced PS can win in the NCAA Tournament. They lack strong defense, but can score in bunches and beat Coast Guard by 20 in their lone game of this past week. 
20. UC Santa Cruz: UCSC moves up three spots in my ballot after shooting the ball very well against Cal Lutheran yesterday in a 75-54 win. The Banana Slugs are set to battle UW-Whitewater tomorrow in what will be a pivotal matchup for us as voters. For now, UCSC is No. 20, but a win tomorrow will put them much higher in my ballot. 
21. Tufts: Let me make this clear: sliding Tufts down this far won’t be something every voter is doing. Tufts is certainly a quality team. But here’s what concerns me. When Maggie Russell is not on the floor, Tufts tends to struggle in a big way. But from a resume standpoint, I just don’t know. They’ve beaten three Massey Top 100 teams, but zero Top 50 teams, and didn’t look good against Emory or NYU. 
22. Ithaca: Not much of an update on Ithaca. They don’t play again until January 2. Slightly concerning as that is a long break from their most recent game on Dec. 7. For now, Ithaca stays in my Top 25. We’ll see what the new year brings. 
23. Hardin-Simmons: HSU drops a little bit in my poll, but not a lot, as the Cowgirls have rolled through their American Southwest Conference schedule. They’ll play Bates on Dec. 29 in Puerto Rico which should be a good resume boost and as I’ve said before, the consecutive losses to Trinity (TX) don’t look great, but I applaud Coach Kendra Whitehead for scheduling that. Her team is certainly better because of it and with PG Paris Kiser back on the floor, HSU is looking sharp. 
24. Gustavus Adolphus: The Gusties have risen to #6 in Massey’s Ratings, but did not make last week’s Top 25. I’m keeping them at #24, and while Simpson’s continued fall hurts the SOS number a bit, wins over Augsburg, UW-Stout, and St. Benedict look really good right now. I honestly don’t know who in the MIAC will contend with Gustavus Adolphus this season. They’re playing great basketball right now. 
25. Calvin: Calvin stays in my ballot at #25, though this was a tough one since Millikin, Bowdoin, and even UW-La Crosse are all knocking on the door. But considering Calvin’s two losses are to Hope and Trine, and the Knights have wins over Whitewater and Wisconsin Lutheran (though the latter result isn’t as good now as it was a month ago), there is reason enough for me to say Calvin most certainly deserves a spot in my ballot. 

So there you have it. Some great basketball has been played so far, with a handful of upsets already. And the day is far from over, with a solid slate tonight. Plus, stay tuned for the release of the new Top 25 on D3hoops.com. As always, send your thoughts/comments/questions in, either by commenting below or emailing me at rileyzayas@gmail.com.