Every Monday, the Associated Press releases their college basketball rankings, which serve as the official numbers for ordering the top 25 teams in the country. Even if the rankings are also, in a way, unofficial -- their only real purpose is to organize the sport for fans (in order to drive TV matchups) and they don't have much, if any, influence on tournament seeding -- they remain important to everyone associated with the sport.

The polls represent a chance to gauge how a national audience of sportswriters perceive your program, whether you're a fan, a player, a coach, administrator, etc. More than likely, voters haven't watched every game of every team -- why certain teams may be slighted while others are overrated. Consider a team like #5 Kansas (22-7, 13-3). Despite six losses at the time the last polls were released, the Jayhawks were in the top five over teams from major conferences with four or less losses, including Villanova, which beat them earlier in the year and has lost just three games. That could be more about judging their potential and seeing them live more than most other teams than their actual performance.

Without much further explanation (because I hope to publish this before the actual polls come out), below are my predictions for today's polls. If I can go 25 for 25, it might bode well for my billion dollar tournament chances.

1. Florida (27-2)

2. Wichita State (31-0)

3. Arizona (27-2)

4. Duke (23-6)

5. Villanova (26-3)

6. Virginia (25-5)

7. Syracuse (26-3)

8. Kansas (22-7)

9. Louisville (24-5)

10. San Diego State (25-3)

11. Wisconsin (24-5)

12. Creighton (23-5)

13. Michigan (21-7)

14. Cincinnati (24-5)

15. North Carolina (22-7)

16. Memphis (22-7)

17. Iowa State (22-6)

18. SMU (23-6)

19. Connecticut (23-6)

20. New Mexico (23-5)

21. Michigan State (22-7)

22. Kentucky (21-8)

23. Iowa (20-9)

24. Saint Louis (25-4)

25. Oklahoma (21-8)

And if I was running the polls...

A. I'd put Villanova and Virginia ahead of Duke and Syracuse (still not sure if they'll actually be behind Villanova). Duke and their six losses haven't played since the 25th while Villanova and Virginia have won two games a piece in that span.

B. I'd jettison Kansas from the top 10 and put them number 11. It's time they pay for their losses.