The American Athletic Conference made filling out my AP Top 25 ballot this week particularly tricky.

Does UConn get back in after winning at Memphis then losing at home to Louisville? And if the Huskies are back in, they've got to be ranked ahead of Memphis, right? Riiiight ... except Memphis just beat Louisville on the road last week and has beaten Oklahoma State on a neutral floor.

Then I have to go make things even more confusing by including SMU this week. You know, the SMU that's 14-4. The SMU that beat UConn a couple of weeks ago, and who's only two league losses were to the two best teams in the AAC: Louisville and Cincinnati.

I went with SMU over a bunch of other deserving candidates, including Oklahoma, UCLA, Creighton, Oregon, Missouri, Gonzaga, California, George Washington, Clemson, Texas and Xavier. I realize I'm still probably out on an island with the Mustangs, but so be it. I saw them in person and was impressed by their size and guard play ... and, of course, their Hall of Fame head coach. And obviously, they get ranked ahead of UConn, right?

Nah, I still think the Huskies are the better team, though in order to make some noise come March, they'll need a much more consistent DeAndre Daniels.

Like I said, a particularly tricky week this week.

1.       Arizona                 

2.       Syracuse              

3.       Michigan State       

4.       Villanova              

5.       Wichita St.           

6.       Florida                  

7.       Oklahoma State     

8.       San Diego State      

9.       Kansas                  

10.   Wisconsin            

11.   Iowa                      

12.   Cincinnati            

13.   Louisville              

14.   UMass                  

15.   Kentucky             

16.   Michigan              

17.   Ohio State              

18.   St. Louis               

19.   Pittsburgh           

20.   Kansas State      

21.   Duke                     

22.   Iowa State          

23.   UConn                  

24.   Memphis             

25.   SMU