This is a hard week to rank teams. Numerous teams ranked in the top 10 in last weeks power ranking lost a game putting alot of them at 1-1 for the week. The teams in the bottom part of the top 10 continue to shuffle and change. The SEC continues to be the toughest conference from top to bottom. 12 of the confernces 16 teams have 4 losses or less. These rankings do not included games being played on tuesday, January 21.
1: Duke (This week: 2-0 vs Miami, @Boston College, Overall: 16-2)
With this weeks ranking I am a strong believer that Duke and Auburn are in a tier of their own. I give the edge to Duke due to their dominance. However one could argue that Auburn has proven more with higher quality wins against quality opponents. Dukes previous 2 wins have been against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents but that should not take away from dukes talent and ability to execute on a weekly basis so far this year. Put them in the SEC and I am confident they would fair just fine lead by Cooper Flagg. Other contributors from this team as of late include Kon Knueppel with 25 vs Miami, Tyrese Proctor vs BC, and Isaiah evans off the bench with 16 vs BC. Expect to see duke rack up win after win throughout ACC play. They play Wake Forest at Winston-Salem and NC State in Cameron Indoor.
2: Auburn (This week: 2-0 vs Mississippi State, @Georgia, Overall: 17-1)
No Johni Broome, no problem for the tigers this week. I am evaluating Auburn the same with or without Broome. Say he misses 2 more weeks, do I think Auburn will win every game without him? Maybe. I think a road game at Ole Miss and home game against Tennessee could cause problems. I think Auburn will eclipse Duke if they continue to win games. Even if Duke has the better in-conference record, I think auburn has the chance to prove themselves with 11 quad 1 opportunities (2 against Alabama) and 2 quad 2 oppoutunites remaining. They beat a strong Georgia team on the road who beat Kentucky. In that game Tahaad Pettiford came off the bench and dropped 24 points on 5/7 on threes. Next on their slate is top 4 matchup at home vs tennessee.
3: Alabama (This week: 1-1 vs Ole Miss L, @Kentucky W, Overall: 15-3)
Alabama beat Kentucky in Lexington to start off college hoops saturday 102-97. I give the nod between them and Iowa State due to this win. This win also helps the players and fans forget about their loss to Ole Miss who is very good in their own right because it was a powerful bounce back and players like Grant Nelson and Mark Sears preformed. Nelson got 25 and 11 rebounds and Sears got 24 and 9 assists. Alabama can obviously score well with their 3s and layups approach, leading the nation in ppg.
4: Iowa State (This week: 1-1 vs Kansas W, @West Virginia L, Overall: 15-2)
Similarly to Alabama, Iowa State got a very solid win at home against kansas, and a respectable loss at West Virginia. Lets start with the game vs Kansas. Half-way through the 1st half they took the lead and never looked back. Curtis Jones dropped 25, Dishon Jackson dropped 17 off the bench, and Keyshon Gilbert chimed in with 8 assists. Iowa State created too many problems for the Jayhawks to handle. Why did Iowa State lose to West Virginia? Because they shot 6% (1-17) from 3. Although they out-rebounded West Virginia by 10 when you shoot that badly its hard to win any game. Looking ahead, they should bounce back against UCF and Arizona State.
5: Michigan State (This week: 2-0 vs Penn State, vs Illinois, Overall: 16-2)
Michigan state jumps up 5 spots largely because they had a 2-0 week and numerous teams lost a game. It’s no suprise that Michigan State is relevent and right in the thick of it to win the BIG 10. A huge win against a great Ilinois team and taking care of business puts them at 5. Up next on their slate is @Rutgers and home vs Minnesota. I strongly believe they will win these games and remain on the power rankings top 10. Jaden Atkins leads them in the scoring department at 14 a game.
6: Purdue (This week: 2-0 @Washington, @Oregon, Overall: 15-4)
Purdue joins the list for the first time. They earned their spot, defeating Oregon on the road. Purdue and Michigan State lead the conference at 7-1 and 7-0 respectfully. Their toughest games will probobly be against Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State. Their best players include Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith, all averaging in double figures. Purdue is 6-0 in their recent Big 10 lead games. Do I think this will continue? No. But do I think Purdue has a chance to win the BIG 10 regular season? Yes. They play a tough Ohio State team next who have loss three 3 straight albeit they were 2 Quad 1 quality losses and a Quad 2 loss. They made every game on this losing streak competitive They have a quality win against kentucky. Purdue has a prime Q1 oppourtunity vs Michigan on January 24.
7: Tennessee (This week: 1-1 vs Georgia W, @Vanderbilt L, Overall: 16-2)
Tennessee goes 1-1 for a second straight week. We are starting to see flaws in this team that we didnt see when they were on their undefeated streak. Georgia was a good win, the vanderbilt game hurts the vols. Against Georgia, they lead the entire 1st half and cruised to a 18 point win. Zakai Zeigler paced them with 16 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Jordan Gainey chipped in 19 off the bench. At Vanderbilt, they got balanced scoring from 4 out of 5 starters but little bench production. They have Mississippi at home on Jan 21, followed by Auburn on the road on Jan 25 which would be a huge opportunity with nothing to lose.
8: Florida (This week: 1-1 vs Missouri L, vs texas W, Overall: 16-2)
Florida remains in the top 10 dropping 3 spots from the 5 line last week. They lost to a surging Missouri team by 1 point, not the worst loss. They responded well with a win over texas. They are the best rebounding team in the nation and they have the 8th best scoring offense. Up next they play at South Carolina, and home vs Georgia. They are lead by Walter Clayton Jr, Alijah Martin, Will Richard, and Alex Condon.
9: Houston (This week: 2-0 vs West Virginia, @UCF, Overall: 14-3)
I welcome Houston to the top 10 as they continue to win games. Back to back quad 1 wins this weeks warrents their spot in the top 10. You could even argue the case for them being higher on this weeks power ranking. Houston is 3rd in the nation via the net but their Quad 1 record is the worst out of the top 23 teams via the NET. They have won every non-quad 1 game which shows in their overall record. A win against West Virginia who beat Iowa State by 16 proves that this team shall not be overlooked. Up next they play at home vs Utah and at Kansas on Jan 25.
10: Ole Miss (This week: 1-1 @Alabama W, @Mississippi state L, Overall: 15-3)
Just how impressive was Ole Miss’s win at Alabama? Extremely impressive They held Alabama to 64 points which was their lowest total all year. In that game the Rebels were lead by Malik Dia with a monster 23 point, 19 rebound performance. Then on saturday it took overtime for Mississippi state to put away Ole Miss. Ole Miss is firmly im the feild of 68 and will likely remain in the feild with all the Quad 1 oppourtunities ahead of them.
Honorable Mentions: Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois