Source: aseaofblue.com / There was plenty of movement once again throughout the rankings, as only a handful of teams held onto their positions in this week's top 25.

College Hoops Top 25 6th Edition - Tennessee Gets Their Revenge!

Welcome back to another updated college hoops top 25. We've had a heck of a week of basketball, and as expected, there was all kinds of movement throughout the top 25 as a result. Two teams dropped out at the backend, and Central Florida joined the rankings for the first time following their impressive road victory at Houston over the weekend. The Knights weren't the only team to make a statement this past week, however, as several teams came through in a big way.

None was bigger than Tennessee's thrashing of the previously red-hot Kentucky Wildcats this past weekend in Knoxville. The Vols got their revenge from a 86-69 defeat earlier in the season in Lexington. Saturday's 71-52 rout was especially impressive when considering the Wildcats could only muster one scorer in double-figures. The defensive effort was more like what we've come to expect out of Rick Barnes' feisty bunch. The victory improved Tennessee to 26-3 and moved them up two spots to #3 in this week's rankings.

Source: rockytoptalk.com / Tennessee got their revenge over rival Kentucky this past weekend, handing the Wildcats a 71-52 stomping.

Gonzaga remained at #1 following a pair of blowout wins to closeout WCC play. The Zags finish the regular season 29-2 and will be massive favorites in the WCC tournament. It appears Mark Few's boys from the pacific northwest have the top overall seed pretty well wrapped up. Virginia moved up a spot to #2 this week as the Blue Devils dropped a pair of spots to #4 this week. Yes, Duke has a pair of victories over Virginia, but those are the Cavaliers only two losses. They continue to blowout literally everyone else - including Syracuse in the Carrier Dome last night (The Orange are a projected 8-9 seed right now and good luck going into that dome and getting a win against that zone). They thrashed Cuse 79-53 and look like a very strong 1-seed at the moment.

North Carolina moved up a spot to #5 right behind the Dukies. There is not much separating these two and I have no problem with the Tar Heels being ranked ahead of the Blue Devils at the moment. I really can't wait to see what happens between these two to end the regular season. Everyone is really hopeful of course that Zion Williamson will be able to return from his injury suffered against UNC in their first matchup at Cameron Indoor. Regardless the Tar Heels check in at #5 up a spot after sneaking past Clemson on the road this past weekend.

Source: texastech.com / The Red Raiders have been mowing down the competition as of late, winning their past 5 games against projected tournament teams by an average of 20 per contest.

Kentucky slid down a pair of spots following that blowout loss at Tennessee on Saturday and check-in at #6 this week. Behind the Wildcats we have the Michigan schools both up a spot each as Michigan State and Michigan come in at 7 & 8. LSU just continues to win in the SEC and find themselves in first following Tennessee's victory over Kentucky. The Tigers continue to play themselves up the seed-lines, and are quickly closing in on a 2 or even a #1 seed. For now, they are up 3 spots this week and into the top 10 at #9. Rounding out the top 10 is Texas Tech, up 3 spots themselves. The Red Raiders are now 25-5 and sit atop the Big XII. They thrashed in-state rival Texas 70-51 last night in Lubbock, and are now a perfect 5-0 in their past 5 games against teams currently projected to make the NCAA tournament field. TTU has won all five by double-figures, averaging a whopping 20-point margin of victory in those contests. They aren't just beating tournament worthy teams, they are demolishing them. Keep an eye on the Red Raiders in the Big XII tournament.

Moving along, Houston checks in at #11 following their home loss to UCF this past weekend. Following the Cougars are Purdue, up a spot to #12 after thumping Ohio State on Sunday, Nevada down to 13 following their loss at Utah State on Saturday night, and Marquette at 14. The Golden Eagles lost at home to Creighton the other day, and with it, dropped four spots in this week's rankings. Florida State remained at 15 for a second consecutive week after improving to 23-6. Kansas State and Kansas flipped spots this week at 16 & 17 respectively as the Wildcats are closing in on at least a share of the Big XII regular season title.

It was status quo rounding out the top 20 from there as Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, and Cincinnati all remained at 18-20 respectively. Buffalo moved up 3 spots to 21 and are moving up the seed-line as well as the Bulls are currently being projected as 6-seed in most mock brackets. Villanova moved up a spot as they got back to their winning ways last week and are now 22-8 on the season. Wofford moved up a pair of spots to 23 this week as the Southern Conference squad is now 26-4 and most likely has an at-large bid locked up no matter what at this point.

Source: floridatoday.com / Welcome to the top 25 UCF! The Knights burst into this week's rankings following their win at Houston on Saturday.

Iowa had a rough week, losing at Ohio State and then at-home to Rutgers, but are clinging to the rankings at 24 this week, down a couple of spots. Lastly, Central Florida jumps into the top 25 following their massive aforementioned road victory at Houston. UCF should now be safely in 7-9 seed territory, and join the rankings for the first time. Both Iowa State and Mississippi State dropped out after lackluster weeks, but both are firmly in the tournament. In a week that certainly wasn't lacking in movement across the board, here is the latest college hoops top 25:

Top 25

6th Edition

1 GONZAGA (29-2)

2 VIRGINIA (27-2)

3 TENNESSEE (26-3)

4 DUKE (25-4)

5 NORTH CAROLINA (24-5)

6 KENTUCKY (24-5)

7 MICHIGAN STATE (23-6)

8 MICHIGAN (26-4)

9 LSU (24-5)

10 TEXAS TECH (25-5)

11 HOUSTON (27-2)

12 PURDUE (22-7)

13 NEVADA (26-3)

14 MARQUETTE (23-6)

15 FLORIDA STATE (23-6)

16 KANSAS STATE (23-7)

17 KANSAS (22-7)

18 VIRGINIA TECH (22-6)

19 WISCONSIN (20-9)

20 CINCINNATI (25-4)

21 BUFFALO (26-3)

22 VILLANOVA (22-8)

23 WOFFORD (26-4)

24 IOWA (21-8)

25 CENTRAL FLORIDA (22-6)*

* - new to the rankings this week

Dropped out: 21 IOWA STATE (20-9), 25 MISSISSIPPI STATE (21-8)

The next group of teams just outside of the top 25 are: Washington (23-6), Auburn (20-9), Mississippi State (21-8), Maryland (21-9), Ole Miss (19-10), Iowa State (20-9), and VCU (23-6). Keep an eye on VCU out of this bunch as the Rams continue to cruise along under the radar in the A-10. Even if they don't win the A-10 tournament, they should be safely in as an at-large.

Source: sportingnews.com / Virginia Tech has continued to make an impression this season - at 22-6, the Hokies' are lurking a bit under the radar in the ACC at the moment.

Looking ahead to the rest of this week, well we all know the stakes - in make or break time in a lot of cases. One win or untimely end-of-season loss could very easily be the difference between getting that coveted invitation to next month's dance, or watching it all unfold from home. Enjoy the busy and exciting week of college hoops action ahead of us, and as always, thank you for your support, happy reading & writing!