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None of the teams in the Power 16 lost last week.

Hence, there is no movement – up or down – in the “updated” ratings.

So, with play scheduled to begin this week in the majority of the conferences, let’s take this time to offer up an “All-American team” for the “15” portion of the 2015-16 schedule.

  And it goes like this:

  Posts (center/power forward):

 *Jakob Poeltl (Utah): 18.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game; .697 FG.

 *Ben Simmons (LSU): 19.1 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 5.8 assists per game, 2.3 steals per game and 1.4 bpg; .561 FG.

  Wings (Shooting guard/small forward):

  *Buddy Hield (Oklahoma): 24.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.5 spg; .529 on 3s.

  *Denzel Valentine (Michigan State): 18.5 ppg and 7.1 apg; .400 on 3s.

   Point guard:

  *Kris Dunn (Providence): 16.5 ppg, 7.3 apg and 3.2 spg.
 

Rank (Last week’s rank)
Record
Comment
1. Michigan St. (1)
13-0
Other than the injury to Denzel Valentine, things couldn’t have gone better for the Spartans in their non-Big Ten schedule. The latter gets underway for Tom Izzo’s squad Tuesday at Iowa.
2. Oklahoma (2)
11-0
The Sooners got strong competition in their final two games (vs. Hawaii and Harvard) in Honolulu before returning to the mainland with their hold onto the 2nd spot in the Power 16 as it opens Big 12 play Saturday in Norman against No. 6 Iowa State.
3. Kansas (3)
10-1
The final pre-start-of-Big 12-play tune-up could be a tough one at home Tuesday against a big, experience and good UC Irvine squad. Then it is home to Baylor for a Big 12 opener Saturday.
4. North Carolina (4)
10-2
The UNC-Greensboro squad comes to town Monday night then the Clemson Tigers visit on Wednesday for an ACC opener.
5. Maryland (5)
11-1
Penn State’s squad comes to College Park for a Wednesday Big Ten opener.
6. Iowa St. (6)
10-1
The Tuesday win on the road against a quality Cincinnati squad took some of the bite out of the home loss to Northern Iowa. The Cyclones are home to Coppin State Wednesday before opening Big 12 play on the road Saturday in Norman.
7. Virginia (7)
10-1
The Cavs get Oakland (and Kahlil Felder) on Wednesday before opening the ACC portion of their schedule Saturday at home against Notre Dame.
8. Xavier (8)
12-0
After a nice road win against an ACC foe (Wake Forest) the Big East gets underway for the Musketeers and Villanova in Philadelphia at noon on New Year’s Eve.
9. Providence (9)
12-1
The Friars had an impressive 24-point road victory against Massachusetts but the going should be a lot tougher in the next road clash – their Big East opener against Butler Thursday.
10. West Virginia (10)
10-1
The nation’s top offensive rebounding squad will play away from Morgantown for its next three games including Big 12 contests vs. Kansas State (Saturday)
11. Miami (11)
10-1
The Canes will play an Ivy League foe (Princeton) at home Tuesday evening before opening its ACC schedule against Syracuse at home on Saturday afternoon.
12. Arizona (12)
12-1
Three road contests (Arizona State, UCLA and USC) should say a lot about the Wildcats being the clear-cut choices to win the Pac 12.
13. Butler (13)
10-1
The Bulldogs are home for two games this week, the second of which (vs. Providence in a Big East opener on Thursday) will attract the most national attention.
14. Purdue (14)
12-1
An RPI-juicing win over Vanderbilt was a nice lead-in for the Boilermakers Big Ten opener at Wisconsin Wednesday night.
15.  Villanova (15)
9-2
A 30-point win against Delaware served as a nifty pre-Big East play tune-up for the Wildcats.
16.  SMU (16)
11-0
After withstanding the challenge of a much-underrated Colorado team in Las Vegas, the Mustangs open American Conference play Tuesday night in Tulsa.

ON THE CUSP: Baylor 9-2, Cincinnati 10-3, Colorado 11-2, Dayton 9-2, Duke 9-2, Connecticut 9-3, George Washington 10-2, Gonzaga 10-3, Kentucky 102, Louisville 11-2, Marquette 10-2, South Carolina 11-0, Texas 8-3, Texas A&M 9-2, UCLA 9-4 and Utah 10-2.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Dec. 21-27)

*Bryn Forbes (Michigan State): Forbes scored a career-best 32 points as the Spartans’ rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to knock off Oakland in Auburn Hills Tuesday night.

*Buddy Hield (Oklahoma): The 6-4 senior averaged 28.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while hitting 13 of 22 shots from being the arc as the Sooners knocked off Washington State, Hawaii and Harvard to win the Diamond Head Classic championship in Honolulu.

*London Perrantes (Virginia): The junior point guard from Los Angeles knocked in a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go in OT to help the Cavaliers edge California, 63-62, Tuesday in Charlottesville.

*Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga): The 6-10 sophomore averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as the Bulldogs opened WCC play in Spokane with 26- and 23-point victories over much improved teams from Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

*Tyler Ulis (Kentucky): The Wildcats’ best player, a sophomore point guard, demonstrated why I believe that’s the case with 21 points and eight assists in a 75-73 win over visiting Louisville Saturday.

Frank Burlison / BurlisonOnBasketball has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.

Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].

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