The start of the 2021-22 college basketball season has delivered from an entertainment standpoint. The top teams in the country have played hot potato with the No. 1 overall ranking in the AP poll, leaving many to wonder which program is the best of the best through 10 games.
Dick Vitale is among those trying to figure out exactly that. He returned to Twitter on Sunday night to update his Top 4 rankings.
The ESPN analyst
My Top 4 this week in my VF @AP_Top25 is clearly no debate here # 1 BAYLOR # 2 DUKE # 3 PURDUE # 4 GONZAGA!” pic.twitter.com/AxepluJ2SL
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) December 13, 2021
“>shared his new list just before the new AP Poll came out on Monday. Here’s how it shaped up:
Vitale said that there “is clearly no debate” about the Bears comings in atop his latest list.
Baylor is deserving of the top spot in Vitale’s latest rankings, considering Scott Drew’s team is one of the few to get through the first nine games undefeated. The defending national champions have quality, blow-out victories over Michigan State and Villanova so far this year.
Duke came in at No. 2 on Dickie V’s latest list. The Blue Devils haven’t been back in action since losing to Ohio State on Nov. 30, but have three tune-up games this weekend before entering ACC play.
Purdue fell down to third after dropping a heartbreaker at the buzzer to Rutgers. The Boilermakers still only have one loss and look to be one of the favorites in the Big Ten as of mid-December.
Two-loss Gonzaga rounded out Vitale’s new Top 4 after blowing past Merrimack this past week. Mark Few’s Bulldogs have only fallen to Duke and Alabama, both of which sit in the Top 6 in the latest AP Poll.
Vitale’s new rankings nearly match the latest Top 25 poll. The first three teams remain the same, but UCLA edged out Gonzaga for No. 4 in Monday’s release.