2017-2018 MEN'S NCAA POWER RANKINGS: FEBRUARY EDITION
#20: DENVER PIONEERS (PREVIOUS RANK: N/A)
#19: MISSOURI TIGERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #17)
#18: GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (PREVIOUS RANK: #20)
#17: PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #15)
#16: LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (PREVIOUS RANK: #16)
#15: SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS (PREVIOUS RANK: #18)
#14: AUBURN TIGERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #13)
#13: TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #14)
#12: GEORGIA BULLDOGS (PREVIOUS RANK: #11)
#11: TEXAS A&M AGGIES (PREVIOUS RANK: #12)
#10: ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (PREVIOUS RANK: #10)A win over Texas shows how far this team has come the past few years. It also solidifies the sense that they can crack the top ten, but it's hard to see them moving up much more. RG
#9: ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (PREVIOUS RANK: #9)Don't let a bad loss to Ohio State fool you. Alabama was victimized in distance free and diving, but this roster is still built for big NCAA points. -JA
#8: USC TROJANS (PREVIOUS RANK: #7)Carsten Vissering looked great in his return, which instantly returns USC's medley relays to contender status. -JA
#7: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (PREVIOUS RANK: #8)The Wolverines have continued to impress me the entire season. They are 1st or 2nd in all the relays in the Big Ten, and have, in my opinion, the 2nd best all-around freestyle squad in the NCAA (behind Stanford) as well as one of the deepest IM squads. -SP
#6: INDIANA HOOSIERS (PREVIOUS RANK: #6)Just like with #1/2 and #3/4, I keep going back and forth Stanford and Indiana. Right now, Stanford gets the edge only because some of the Hoosiers' key swimmers have consistently performed better at Big Tens than NCAAs the past few years. -RG
Gabriel Fantoni is an excellent addition to the Hoosiers, creating more potential combinations for already good medley relays. -SP
#5: STANFORD CARDINAL (PREVIOUS RANK: #5)Stanford's free group is phenomenal, and more importantly, they have the ability to score in every single swimming event, including the relays. That will make them very dangerous at the NCAAs. -SP
#4: FLORIDA GATORS (PREVIOUS RANK: #4)Most of the relay ranks don't yet include
Caeleb Dressel, but the Gators currently have a lot of ground to make up on NC State. -JA
#3: NC STATE WOLFPACK (PREVIOUS RANK: #3)Do we even know who will swim what relay for NC State? The Pack runs deep with versatile talents like
Ryan Held,
Jacob Molacek,
Justin Ress and
Andreas Vazaios, giving the coaching staff myriad relay options at ACCs. -JA
#2: TEXAS LONGHORNS (PREVIOUS RANK: #1)Too many stars to not show up at NCAAs. Plus a big diving advantage. -JA
If you trust the Texas taper, there's no reason to be unduly worried about the Longhorns' loss to ASU. There's more reason to be worried about
John Shebat not swimming the past two weekends, even if he's now supposed to be back for the postseason. RG
#1: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (PREVIOUS RANK: #2)Every time I've crunched the numbers, Cal comes out ahead by 10-20 points. A single DQ or sub-par morning swim could make the difference at NCs. RG
I think it's safe to say it will be a bloodbath between Cal and Texas at the NCAAs, and while Texas probably has more star power, I think Cal has more momentum going into their conference meet. That can make a big difference going into taper. -SP
Cal might have the best relays in the nation as a whole.
Ryan Hoffer is starting to look like a true budding star again. -JA
(Also receiving votes: Minnesota, Notre Dame, Miami)