We are through the first weekend of conference play. The top of the rankings dont change much due to the fact that these teams took care of business. These rankings dont include games being played on tuesday january 7.
1: Auburn (This week: 1-0 vs Missouri, Overall: 13-1)
When a lot of top teams having recent dominance over their opponents it becomes hard to differenciate between these teams. This team along with tennessee have won blowouts aganst formitable conference opponents and have solitified their statutes as the nationals top 2 if they have not already in previous weeks. I give them the edge over tennessee because they have double the Q1 wins. We will see how they handle texas at texas in their next game
2: Tennessee (This week: 1-0 vs Arkansas, Overall: 14-0)
This team is good dont get me wrong, but I would not put them in the category of a undefeated team that is final 4 or bust. They have to prove themselves against better competition in road games at Florida, at Auburn, and against Kentucky in all in January. A weak strength of schedule in the non-conference could hurt their seed come march madness. Im not trying to be all negative towards the vols, they have talented players like guards Chaz Lanier and Zakai Ziegler who impact the game and can lead this team through tough moments, games, and adversity. They won tightly at Illinois which is turning into a huge win as illinois continues to climb the rankings.
3: Iowa St. (This week: 1-0 vs Baylor, Overall: 12-1)
Not much has changed with Iowa State since last week. They continue to win basketball games. The have the 6th best scoring margin in D1, meaning they blow teams out. If I had to pick a team from the big 12 to win the league, win the conference tournement, and make a deep run in march madness, the anwser is clearly and I mean clearly the cyclones. They are the best in the big 12 at Q1 games. Their best player is Keyshon Gilbert who I covered in a different post. Gilbert and Curtis Jones lead this team with 16 ppg a piece. I will say its weird seeing Iowa St. doing better than Kansas
4: Duke (This week: 1-0 @SMU, Overall: 12-2)
Cooper Flagg has continued to put up solid point and rebound numbers consistently game-in game-out. Duke is the clear favorite in a weaker ACC. They have the 6th best scoring defense allowing 59 ppg. Their near the top of the nation with 4 Q1 wins and have no losses outside of Q1. Their strength of scedule ranks 4th. Besides the numbers which tell you part of Dukes greatness this year, they pass the eye test with their elite backcourt. They face a 12-2 Pittsburgh team next, tuesday night.
5. Illinois (This week: 2-0 @Oregon, @Washington, Overall 11-3)
Probobly the hottest team in the nation with little debate is illinois. They went to Eugene, Oregon and dismantled a ranked team 109-77 on January 2. This win was fueled by balanced scoring from 5 players in double figures. Illinois followed this with a win at washington which was a strong test. Washington steadily got the game to be tied at 75 before illinois pulled away just enough. There is nothing like a close road game during conference play where the road team pulls away. Kasparas led them in this one with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
6. Alabama (This week: 1-0 vs Oklahoma, Overall 12-2)
Alabama has been a great team for the past couple of years. They were a number 1 seed in 2023’s NCAA Tornement, and made the final four last year. They have returning guard Mark Sears averaging 18 ppg and returning forward Grant Nelson averaging 13 ppg. They throttled undefeated Oklahoma on saturday where their bench showed up big time. Under Nate Oats they play an NBA esque’ style averaging 91 points a game and are 5th in the nation in three point attemps at 33 a game. They also lead the nation in rebounds per game at 46. I give other SEC teams Tennessee and Auburn the edge because they have a better Q1 performance although Alabama has a better SOS than Tennessee by a wide margin.
7. Uconn (This week: 2-0 @DePaul, vs Providence, Overall 12-3)
Uconn has been fairly steady since their 3 game losing streak. Them and Marquette have been the best in the big east. They have a wide scoring margin and are lead by a great coach in Dan Hurley. A big determinant of their sucess will be weather they can get stops. If Hurley can motivate them to compete defensively every game which is hard to due, they can make noise come march. As legendary as a 3 peat would be, other big name analysts and I dont see that coming to fruition.
8. Marquette (This week: 2-0 @Providence, vs Creighton, Overall 13-2)
Although they lost their best pieces in Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro to the NBA, they are still nationally relevent and at the top of the big east with Uconn. Marquette sceduled tough in the non-conference this year, playing 7 Q1 games and winning 5 of them. I like to reward teams that take risks and scedule tough in november and december. They blewout providence at providence and took care of creighton in Milwaukee. Player to watch on this team is Kam Jones. He leads the team at 20 ppg. The experienced guard has gradually improved each year statistically and has scored in double figures evey game this year.
9. Kentucky (This week: 2-0 vs Brown, vs Florida, Overall 12-2)
Huge win against florida on saturday. They are second in the nation in offensive scoring at 90 ppg and third in defensive rebounds at 30 a game. In my opinion these stats are among the most important stats. You gotta put the ball in the bucket and you gotta rebound to get a oppourtunity to score wether its an offensive or defensive rebound. Koby Brea erupted for 23 points and 7 threes against Florida.
10. Memphis (This week: 2-0 @FAU, vs North Texas, Overall 12-3)
I have to give Memphis some love. They are 4-2 in Q1. They are athletic and they have not lost on the road! They dont stand out in any stats besides 3 point percentage at 41% which is 4th in the nation. Memphis wont have many opportunities for many more high level wins before march but if they win the games thrier suppost to win they will be firmly in the feild as an at large bid. PJ Haggerty is this teams best player averaging 22 a game and shooting 82 percent from the line.
Honorable Mentions:
Missisippi State, Oregon, Florida